Title: Judiciary In Turmoil
(It is a great misfortune that an internal rift has moved inexorably towards a full-blown crisis.)
- The press conference held by four senior judges of the Supreme Court Justices J. Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan B. Lokur and Kurian Joseph has exposed an unprecedented level of dissension in the top echelons of the judiciary.
- The reverberations of what took place on Friday will not easily subside and will be felt for a long time to come.
- The question is whether it could have been handled internally rather than be dragged into the open like this.
- It is clear that their grievances are rooted in their perception that Justice Misra is misusing his administrative powers to assign cases “selectively”, disregarding conventions on the allocation of judicial work.
- They allege that Justice Misra is departing so far from set conventions that it would have “unpleasant and undesirable consequences”
The reason for the current conflict
1) The controversial Prasad Education Trust case.
2) An issue over the Sohrabuddin ‘fake encounter’ case.
3) Memorandum of Procedure for judicial appointments
Conclusion
- Rather than brush away the concerns of the four judges, the Chief Justice must convene a meeting of the full court and give them a patient and careful hearing.
- It is best that there is no more airing of differences in public and that this incident is regarded by posterity as an aberration rather than a precedent.
Chapter IV under Part V of the constitution (Union) deals with the Union Judiciary.
Articles 124-147
- Article 124: Establishment and Constitution of Supreme Court
- Article 126: Appointment of acting Chief Justice
- Article 141: Law declared by Supreme Court to be binding on all courts
Turmoil = Uncertainty (उथल-पुथल)
Rift = Flaw, crack (दरार)
Inexorably = In a way that is impossible to stop or prevent (निष्ठुर)
Unprecedented = Never done or known before (अभूतपूर्व)
Dissension = Disagreement (कलह)
Echelon = A level or rank in an organization (श्रेणीबद्ध करना)
Reverberations = Echo, prolongation of a sound (प्रतिध्वनि)
Ferment = Agitation and excitement among a group of people (उबाल)
Ominous = Unfavourable (अमंगल)
Outbreak = A sudden occurrence of something unwelcome (प्रकोप)
Delineate = Describe (वर्णन करना)
Master of the roster = Master of schedule
Deceased = Dead, expired (मृतक)
Dispel = Disperse, remove (हटाना)
Professed = Claimed openly but often falsely (आत्मस्वीकृत)
Brush away = To refuse to accept or listen to something that someone says
Convene = Assemble, (बुलाना)
Grievance = A real or imagined cause for complain, (शिकायतें)
Posterity = All future generations of people (भावी पीढ़ी)
Introspection = The examination or observation of one's own
mental and emotional processes (आत्मनिरीक्षण)
