Supreme Court judges Justice Jasti Chelameswar and Ranjan Gogoi — two of the four top court judges who held the unprecedented January 12 press conference — on Tuesday chose to skip an event organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) to launch their journal the SCBA Times.
While the two judges ranking two and three in the pecking order skipped the event, Justices Madan Lokur and Kurian Joseph — the other half of the famous four — were seen mingling with Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra months after they rebelled and spoke out against him.
The event — held at the Supreme Court lawns — was one of the first events where the judges were seen outside the courtroom since the January 12 press conference held by four senior Supreme Court judges where they expressed their anguish over CJI Dipak Misra's alleged breach of institutional integrity by tinkering with a well-established system.
The issue of the missing judges can be telling since it has been reported that CJI Misra is expected to meet the four judges one last time on Wednesday to resolve the judicial crisis kicked off by the January press conference.
Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, who was also present at the event, took the occasion to suggest that perhaps SCBA Times could initiate a debate in the country on the issue of holding simultaneous elections. The country cannot afford multiple elections as it affects governance, the minister said.
The debate on simultaneous elections is gaining traction since President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have been batting for it suggesting it would save resources.
THE EVENT
- CJI Dipak Misra was present at the event.
- Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad suggested that the journal could initiate a debate on holding simultaneous elections.
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 "Justice Jasti Chelameswar (L) and Justice Ranjan Gogoi")
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