The revolt of the four judges against the Chief Justice Dipak Misra has shaken the judicial system of the country. It was an unprecedented decision by the four seniormost justices to hold a press conference and expose some improper practices in the country’s top court. The four judges have raised some profound questions against the actions of the Chief Justice. In a damning indictment, the justices accused Justice Misra of ignoring the concerns voiced by them. The judges defended their extraordinary step by saying that they had no choice but to communicate the state of affairs to the nation. They said that 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”. So, they wanted the established conventions of the court to be “guarded against at all costs.
The far-reaching fallout of the development is still unfolding. The reactions to the development have been varied: many people have objected to the justices washing their dirty linen in public and expressed an opinion that the matter should have been sorted out among the justices themselves. Others have rightly lamented the adverse fallout of the justices’ press conference on the credibility of the Supreme Court.
Though it is a legitimate worry, this cloud has a silver lining too: that is the four justices have come out and spoken. They had the option of being silent. They even had the option of playing along. But they didn’t. And it takes great moral courage to do so. More so, when one of them is the next in line Chief Justice of India. But their motive is honourable: “We dont want wise men saying 20 years from now that Justice Chelameswar, Gogoi, Lokur and Kurian Joseph sold their souls and didnt do the right thing by our Constitution, they said.
For us in Kashmir, the development is a cause of both hope and worry. The Supreme Court has been hearing the critically important cases related to the special constitutional position enjoyed by J&K under the Constitution of India. After the press conference, people in the state have started to have doubts about the bench hearing the case. They see a reason to suspect that the bench may have also been selectively chosen as alleged by the four judges in some other cases. Or it may not have been the case at all. And if by any chance, this was the case, the revolt by the four judges against the unconventional practice reinforces rather than weakens our faith in the Supreme Court as an institution. But for that faith to sustain it is also important what happens now. How Chief Justice acts and how he resolves the crisis facing the countrys highest institution charged with delivery of justice. And the nation now is watching. Kashmiris too.
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