A press conference by four senior judges to raise concerns over the functioning of the Supreme Court of India has dealt a body blow to the credibility of the top court. The judges, including the one who is next in line to become the chief justice, have raised serious questions over the manner in which cases are heard and cleared. They implied that Chief Justice of India Dipak Mishra is intervening to assign sensitive cases to junior judges of his choice. One such case involves the petition to investigate the mysterious death of a judge who was hearing murder charges against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s key aide Amit Shah.
A letter written by the judges and addressed to Mishra said: “There have been instances where cases having far-reaching consequences for the nation and the institution had been assigned by the chief justice of this court selectively to the benches ‘of their preference’ without any rationale for this assignment. This must be guarded against at all costs”.
These allegations have shocked the nation. Equally shocking is the press conference itself, an unprecedented action by members of higher judiciary. It would be unfair to assume that the judges did not exhaust all options before goingpublic with their grievances. The judges said they spoke in public so that they are not accused of “selling their souls”.
The issues raised are important and the chief justice must immediately act in a transparent manner. Any delay will permanently tarnish his image and his office’s reputation. Judiciary is a strong pillar in any democratic society and it must not be seen as pliable to the executive which must stay away from this revolt. The Supreme Court must resolve this internally.
