Judges' outburst against CJI 'unfortunate' and 'painful', says Justice K G Balakrishnan

Former chief justice of India K G Balakrishnan today described the unprecedented action of four Supreme Court judges of listing out the problems afflicting the institution as "unfortunate" and "painful".

He added that the judges should have discussed the matter and resolved it among themselves.

"The judiciary is the sanctuary of the common man. This kind of a situation will trigger doubts about the institution and this should not have happened," Justice Balakrishnan told reporters here.

The judges should now move forward to find a solution to the situation, he added.

Stating that he was not blaming anyone for the development, Justice Balakrishnan said such a situation should not have occurred in the first place.

In an unprecedented move, four senior judges of the Supreme Court -- justices J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, M B Lokur and Kurian Joseph -- called a press conference today and stated that "sometimes, the administration of the Supreme Court is not in order and many things, which are less than desirable, have happened in the last few months".

Asked if the press meet called by the four judges was improper, Justice Balakrishnan said it was not a criminal offence and that there was nothing wrong in it.

Reacting to the development, former Supreme Court judge Justice K T Thomas said the matter should be taken very seriously as four senior judges of the collegium had come out and spoken.

Recalling that he too was a part of the collegium in the past, he said that they were always consulted by the chief justice on every important issue.