Supreme Court crisis will take 2-3 days more to settle, says A-G KK Venugopal day after he calls judge-CJI rift a 'storm in a tea cup'

A day after Attorney General KK Venugopal called the ongoing crisis in Supreme Court a “ storm in a tea cup”, on Tuesday said the crisis seems to be unresolved and hoped it will be “fully settled” in a couple of days.

We are in the process of resolving the issue. It would be resolved shortly: Attorney General KK Venugopal. #SupremeCourt pic.twitter.com/YceuNpqgsJ

— ANI (@ANI) January 16, 2018

“Everything has been settled” is what Venugopal claimed on Monday after four senior judges openly castigated the functioning of the top court headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra.

“Everything has been settled is what I believe … Everything is under control. Everything has been settled,” he told PTI. When asked if he has met any of the judges, Venugopal had said “nobody at all,” including the Chief Justice. He added that all the four senior-most judges had held their courts today and conducted routine work.

On Tuesday, Venugopal told PTI, “Yes, I think it has not been settled. Lets hope things will be fully settled within 2-3 days.”

On 12 January, four senior Supreme Court judges — Justice J Chelameswar, Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice Madan B Lokur and Justice Kurian Joseph — openly castigated the functioning of the top court headed by the CJI.

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Asked about reports about the impasse continuing, Venugopal said he has to agree with the view. On whether he had a meeting or spoke with any of the four judges or the CJI, Venugopal said, “Nothing of that sort has happened”. However, he hoped things will be sorted out in the next couple of days.

Venugopal, on Friday, had said that the judges could have avoided going public with their complaints against CJI Misra. He also said that the judges were men of repute and statesmen and hoped that they would solve their difference amicably.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Principal Secretary Nripendra Misra was on Saturday morning seen driving to the residence of the Chief Justice. He was seen sitting inside his official car which returned from the gate of the Chief Justice’s residence without entering there.

Not just the Attorney General, the Bar Council of India at a press conference on Monday said that “it was an internal issue and has been resolved internally”. When asked how such a major development was solved “internally”, BCI chief Manan Kumar Mishra said that it was a matter “within a family” which was resolved after the judges met in the CJI’s chambers on Monday. The council said its members had met 15 judges of the Supreme Court following the crisis. “Kahani khatam ho gaya (the story is now over),” Mishra said.