In an unprecedented decision, the Supreme Court Collegium has recommended the names of three women judges for appointment in the apex court which, if cleared, would give the country its first woman Chief Justice of India (CJI) in the form of Justice B V Nagarathna on February 10, 2027.
Senior IPS officers Javeed Ahmed, Rajni Kant Misra, S S Deswal and Shivanand Jha are said to be among the front-runners for the coveted post.
In an unusual coincidence, the two judges of a Supreme Court bench hearing a plea against the survey of the Gyanvapi-Shringar Gauri complex in Varanasi have had an association with a similar kind of dispute relating to the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri masjid issue as well.
Most politicians and even non-politicians have been honoured because of what they were purported to be electorally worth for the ruling party of their time, argues N Sathiya Moorthy.
The SC said Rao has prima facie committed contempt of court by transferring Sharma without taking court's consent.
With the elevation of these four new judges, the strength has risen from 24 to 28.
Justices Madan B Lokur, Kurien Joseph, Ranjan Gogoi and Jasti Chelameswar addressed the press conference on the lawns of Justice Chelameswar's official residence.
He said citizens from far flung areas of the country come to the apex court and the bench headed by the CJI was dismissing their petitions without hearing them at the admission stage.
The judges -- Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, CJI-designate Sharad Arvind Bobde and justices Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan and S Abdul Nazeer -- delivered the verdict in the century-old dispute.
Justice J Chelameswar, who courted controversy by virtually revolting against Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, also said that impeachment cannot be an answer to every problem and there was need to correct the system.
'These things are not forgotten, it will haunt the Supreme Court for a long time.'
The Supreme Court Collegium had recommended their names to the government last month.
As the impasse over the crisis after the virtual revolt by the four judges against Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra last Friday continued, sources said Justice Chelameswar had a brief meeting with another dissenting judge Justice Ranjan Gogoi at his residence.
Attorney General K K Venugopal on Tuesday said the crisis in the Supreme Court seems to be unresolved and hoped it will be "fully settled" in a couple of days, remarks that come a day after he stated that everything was settled in the higher judiciary.
Reversing the burden of evidence means that the principle of innocent until proven guilty does not apply. It is exactly the opposite: Guilty as charged, until you can convince the judges of the contrary, points out Shekhar Gupta.
The new judges of the top court include Justice B V Nagarathna, who will be in line to be the first woman Chief Justice of India (CJI) in September 2027, Justice Bela M Trivedi, Justice Hima Kohli, Justice C T Ravikumar, Justice M M Sundresh, and senior advocate and former Additional Solicitor General P S Narasimha.
'The Vision of Justice was indeed attained in the courtroom.' 'Not once, but multiple times.' 'But has it translated into reality?' 'Has the success of these sterling verdicts reached the ground?' asks Justice Ranjan Gogoi, the next Chief Justice of India.
A controversy broke out on Sunday over Justice Sikri getting a government offer last year for a post-retirement assignment at the London-based Commonwealth Secretariat Arbitral Tribunal (CSAT), three days after his vote, as a representative of CJI Ranjan Gogoi on the panel, helped decide the removal of Verma as CBI director.
The attorney general admitted that there is no sovereign guarantee, but asserted that there is a letter of comfort by France which would be as good as a governmental guarantee.
The four judges -- Justices J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan B Lokur and Kurian Joseph -- have taken up their respective business on the first working day of the top court after the January 12 press conference.
The government had on April 26 declined to accept the recommendation of the collegium and asked it to reconsider his name.
Rajeev Dhavan had created a flutter in the packed courtroom on Wednesday when he tore the pictorial map provided by senior lawyer Vikas Singh, representing AIHM.
The CJI has also kept with himself matters concerning arbitration, habeas corpus, criminal cases, contempt of court and ordinary civil matters.
The judges on the bench are CJI S A Bobde, Justices R Banumathi, Ashok Bhushan, L Nageswara Rao, M M Shantanagoudar, S A Nazeer, R Subhash Reddy, B R Gavai and Surya Kant.
Kumar's lawyer mentioned the matter for urgent listing before a vacation bench comprising Justices Indira Banerjee and Sanjiv Khanna.
JUstice Kurian Joseph favoured setting up of an administrative committee to assist the office of Chief Justice of India in effectively handling the affairs of the top court.
Justice Chelameswar said the reasons were too obvious and he would not like to deal with the matter.
The CBI has alleged that Justice Shukla received illegal gratification from Justice (Retd) Quddusi and B P Yadav, chairman of Prasad Education Trust which runs a medical college in Lucknow, for getting a favourable order to prevent delisting from counselling sessions for admitting students in 2017.
Justice S A Bobde will not be available on January 29.
Registrar (Judicial) informed Chidambaram's lawyers that Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi has listed the matter for hearing on Friday.
The apex court said that he won't be allowed to take any major policy decision till the high-powered committee considers the issue of "divestment of power and authority".
The apex court had last year disallowed Swamy from intervening in the Ayodhya land dispute case.
The SC said that the woman law student did not want to go to her home state Uttar Pradesh.
He has also sought stay of the Centre's order asking him to proceed on leave and giving the interim charge of his post to Joint Director M Nageswara Rao, a 1986 batch Odisha-cadre IPS officer.
Chief Justice of India designate Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde, who will assume charge as the 47th Chief Justice of India on November 18, in a wide-ranging interview discussed the significance of dispensation of timely justice, criticism of judges and the lack of infrastructure in judiciary.
'We cannot override the CJI's order... This is nonsense'
A row erupted after the Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi-headed five-judge Collegium in a fresh resolution on January 10 recommended the elevation of Justice Dinesh Maheshwari and Justice Sanjiv Khanna to the Supreme Court bypassing the seniority of several judges.
By raising a banner of revolt against the CJI, the 4 judges have dealt a body blow to the faith of many Indians in the Supreme Court, argues Sudhir Bisht.
The bench on October 16 had reserved the judgment after marathon hearing of 40 days.
A special bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and justices S A Bobde and R F Nariman on Friday ordered the inter-cadre transfer of Hajela on deputation.
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