New Delhi: After open rebellion in the Supreme Court on Friday against the Chief Justice of India Justice Deepak Mishra, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it was learnt, spoke to Union law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad. The law minister briefed the Prime Minister about the developing situation, sources said.
Meanwhile, maintaining a safe distance, minister of state for law and justice P.P. Chaudhury said that the government was in no mood to intervene.
“Our judiciary is reputed all over the world, is independent and will sort out the matter itself,” Mr Chaudhury said. Earlier, BJP Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy sought the Prime Minister’s intervention in the matter. Also the BJP has so far maintained a stoic silence over the controversy.
Reacting on the issue, BJP MP Subramanian Swamy said, “We can’t criticise them (judges), they are men of great integrity and have sacrificed a lot of their legal career, where they could have made money as senior counsels. We must respect them. The Prime Minister must ensure that the four judges and the CJI, in fact, the whole Supreme Court come to one opinion and proceed further.”
Sources disclosed that since such an issue has never erupted in the past, the executive would prefer to adopt a wait and watch policy. Government sources maintained that since it was an internal matter of the judiciary, the government has no say in it and did not wish to interfere. However, sources said that the apex court should settle the issue at the earliest as the faith of the people in the judiciary was at stake.
In an unprecedented move, four seniormost judges of the Supreme Court held a press conference where they said that the situation in the apex court was “not in order” and many “less than desirable” things had taken place. The second seniormost judge after the CJI, Justice J Chelameswar said, “Sometimes, the administration of the Supreme Court is not in order and many things which are less than desirable have happened in the last few months.”
