Justice Chelameswar refuses invite to his farewell by SC Bar Association

New Delhi: Justice J Chelameswar, the second most senior judge in the Supreme Court, is has reportedly turned down the invitation by Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) to attend his farewell function.

The 64-year-old judge is slated to retire on June 22.

Justice Chelameswar has been at the centre of controversies this year, after he along with three other SC judges -- Justices Ranjan Gogoi, Madan Lokur, and Kurian Joseph – called a press conference at his home in Delhi and publicly raised concerns over the allocation of cases to benches.

In the press conference, the four judges mentioned that the situation in the apex court was "not in order" and many "less than desirable" things have taken place.

Subsequently on March 21, Justice Chelameswar wrote a letter to the Chief Justice of India (CJI) asking him to consider convening a full court to take up the issue of alleged executive interference in judiciary.

On April 25, Justice Chelameswar also skipped a customary lunch meeting, a tradition in which all judges of the court meet for the afternoon meal every Wednesday.