Supreme Court crisis: CJI Dipak Misra, four judges to meet on Wednesday

The Supreme Court. (Express Photo by Tashi Tobgyal)

THE next in the series of meetings between Chief Justice Dipak Misra and his four senior-most colleagues in the Supreme Court, to try and end the impasse in the working of the apex court, is scheduled for Wednesday.

At the last meeting between the five, apart from Misra and Justices J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan B Lokur and Kurian Joseph, who together form the Collegium — the highest decision-making body of the judiciary — three other Supreme Court Justices, A K Sikri, D Y Chandrachud and U U Lalit, were present. The meeting, held last week, was the longest so far, going on for over an hour.

The crisis was triggered by Justices Chelameswar, Gogoi, Lokur and Joseph, in an unprecedented move, going public with their concerns over the conduct of the CJI, especially over the allocation of cases, at a press conference on January 12.

Doubting there would be an early breakthrough, sources said that the problems plaguing the Supreme Court as well as the solution proposed by the four judges were “systemic” in nature, warranting greater engagement. The meetings, sources felt, were more in the nature of “giving the impression that matters stand resolved and all is well now”.