In a striking revelation retired Supreme Court Judge Kurian Joseph, who demitted office as a Supreme Court judge on November 29, said that apex court was not going in the right direction under then Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra.
Justice Joseph reportedly said, “Someone from outside was controlling the CJI, that is what we felt. So we met him, asked him, wrote to him to maintain independence and majesty of the Supreme Court. When all attempts failed, we decided to hold a press conference.”
He said, “Whatever I did was very consciously, for a cause which was not targeted at any individual, but for putting in place a collective mechanism to assist the Chief Justice in running the affairs of the top court.”
Several signs of external influences on the top court led Joseph along with Justices J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi and Madan Lokur on January 12, 2018, held a press conference. During the press meet they said, “Unless Supreme Court is preserved, democracy will not survive.” They had alleged faulty “assignment of cases” and “sensitive cases being allotted to junior judges” by Justice Misra.
Justice Joseph added that there were “signs of influence with regard to allocation of cases to different benches selectively, to select judges who were perceived to be politically biased.”
“Institutional system and practices need to be put in place. It will take time,” Justice Joseph added.
