CJI Dipak Misra likely to meet 3 ‘rebel’ judges to break ice, unwell Chelameswar on leave

On Tuesday, the four judges felt that CJI Dipak Misra had made "no offer to do something on the substantive issues raised in the letter".

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CJI Dipak Misra had agreed to the meeting “so as to not appear intractable”. (PTI photo)

After failing to make any headway during their brief meeting on Tuesday, Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra on Wednesday is expected to meet the dissenting senior-most judges — Justices J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan B Lokur and Kurian Joseph. Justice Chelameswar, however, is on leave as he is unwell. Wednesday’s meeting will be the second in as many days.

Following their meeting on Tuesday, sources told The Indian Express that the four dissenting judges were of the view that the Chief Justice Misra has not committed to acting on the issues raised in their letter.

They felt the CJI had made “no offer to do something on the substantive issues raised in the letter”. But another source expressed optimism about the talks slated for Wednesday: “Hopefully, something will turn out at tomorrow’s meeting.”

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Three other judges — Justices A K Sikri, A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud — facilitated the meeting between the CJI and the four judges, sources said.

CJI Misra, according to the source, agreed to the meeting “so as to not appear intractable” and to “assess the seriousness of intent” of the four judges.

It is not known what issues were discussed in the meeting between the justices.

Last Friday, Justices Chelameswar, Gogoi, Lokur and Joseph called a press conference to question the conduct of the CJI, especially on allocation of cases. They also made public the letter they had written to the CJI two months ago.

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The senior judges, the source said, appeared concerned that “there was an attempt to paint them in poor light”. They had earlier indicated that the CJI convene a full court to discuss the issues they had raised in the letter they made public last Friday.

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