Amidst the raging controversy surrounding his integrity, Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra on Monday convened a high-profile meeting of four justices of the Supreme Court and formed a team that would compile solutions and suggestions to improve the image of the top court. CJI Misra held the meeting within hours of Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu rejecting the impeachment motion against him.
Misra told his fellow judges that he was “doing my best” in light of the controversy surrounding him, reported The Times of India. The CJI also sought concerns from the judges to “resolve” them “informally”.
The meeting lasted for around 20 minutes resulting in a 15-minute delay in judges returning to their benches. The CJI and the judges have reportedly agreed to set up an informal committee of justices Abhinandan Sikri, DY Chandrachud, Sanjay Kishan Kaul and UU Lalit to “collate grievances”. None of the four top judges, who had gone public against CJI Misra earlier this year have been included in the committee.
The development comes after Vice President Naidu rejected an impeachment motion against the CJI, signed by 64 MPs from the opposition parties, a move the Congress called “unprecedented”.
Reacting to Naidu’s decision, senior Congress leader, Kapil Sibal had said, “This shatters the confidence of the people. It destroys the legitimate processes of the law. It seeks to hide and ensure that no inquiry takes place. It jeopardises the judicial system, We will certainly move a petition in the SC to challenge this order. We are confident, that when we move that petition, the CJI has nothing to do with it. So that it is heard and the serious issues which are constitutional in nature and which will determine whether we will bring transparency to the process, will be decided by the court.”
On the other hand, BJP has condemned the Congress for denting the image of the Supreme Court.