A day after divisions in the Supreme Court burst out in the open on Friday when four senior most judges took an unprecedented step of addressing the media to accuse Chief Justice Dipak Misra of breaching rules in assigning cases to appropriate benches, Attorney-General KK Venugopal said the press conference held by four senior Supreme Court judges could impact public confidence in judiciary.
At a hurriedly called press conference at his residence, Justice J Chelameswar and three other colleagues said the Supreme Court administration was "not in order" and their efforts to persuade Justice Misra even this morning "with a specific request" failed, forcing them to "communicate with the nation" directly.
The four judges — Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice Kurian Joseph and Justice Madan B Lokur besides Justice Chelameswar — released a letter they wrote to Justice Misra a couple of months ago, conceding that he was the master of roster but that was "not a recognition of any superior authority, legal or factual of the Chief Justice over his colleagues".
The press conference held by the four Supreme Court judges. PTI
Asked specifically if they were upset over reference of the matter seeking a probe into the suspicious death of Judge Loya, Justice Gogoi said: "Yes."
Judge Loya, who was hearing a case relating to the killing of gangster Sohrabuddin Sheikh in an alleged fake shootout in which BJP chief Amit Shah was named an accused (later discharged), died of cardiac arrest in 2014. His family has raised doubts over the circumstances in which Judge Loya died and have sought an independent probe into it.
Pleas seeking probe came up for a hearing in the Supreme Court on Friday when the top court expressed concerns over it and said it was a "serious issue". It asked the Maharashtra government to produce all the documents related to the case before 15 January.
In a seven-page letter, the four judges said they were not mentioning details of the cases only to avoid embarrassing the institution because "such departures have already damaged the images of this institution to some extent".
The clash among the judges in the highest court also comes in the wake of a controversial order in November in which Justice Misra declared that the Chief Justice "is the master of the roster" having exclusive power to decide which case will go to which judge.
The CJI had given the order a day after a two-judge bench headed by Justice Chelameswar had passed an order that a five-judge bench of senior most judges in the apex court should be set up to consider an independent probe into a corruption case in which bribes were allegedly taken in the name of settling cases pending before Supreme Court judges.
Holding that the Chief Justice was only the first among equals, the four judges contended that there were well-settled and time-honoured conventions guiding the Chief Justice in dealing with the strength of the bench required or the composition thereof.
"A necessary corollary to the above mentioned principle is the members of any multi-numbered judicial body, including this court, would not arrogate to themselves the authority to deal with and pronounce upon matters which ought to be heard by appropriate benches, both composition-wise and strength-wise with due regard to the roster fixed," they wrote in the letter.
They said any departure from the two rules would not only lead to "unpleasant and undesirable consequences of creating doubt in the body politic about the integrity of the institution" but would create "chaos".
The four judges also touched upon another controversial issue, the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) on appointment of judges over which the Supreme Court had locked horns with the government.
The government, the letter said, had not responded to the communication and "in view of this silence it must be taken that the MoP has been accepted by the government on the basis of the order of this court".
Justice Chelameswar told the media that they were "convinced that unless this institution is protected and maintains its requirements, democracy will not survive in the country or any country... The hallmark of a democracy is independent and impartial judges."
"Since all our efforts failed... Even this (Friday) morning, on a particular issue, we went and met the Chief Justice with a specific request. Unfortunately we could not convince him that we were right."
Justice Gogoi said they were "discharging debt to the nation that has got us here".
The government appeared to distance itself from the controversy, saying the judges should sort the issue themselves.
Minister of State for Law PP Chaudhary said: "Our judiciary is one of the known, recognised judiciaries in the world. It is an indepenedent judiciary. At this stage I think no agency is required to intervene or interfere. The Chief Justice and other members should sit together and resolve. There is no question of panic."
The Supreme Court split had an immediate political fallout, with CPI leader D Raja saying after meeting Justice Chelameswar that Parliament will have to device methods to sort out problems like this in the top judiciary.
Two judges, Justice SA Bobde and Justice L Nageshwar Rao, are understood to have called on Justice Chelameswar.
With inputs from IANS
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Updated Date: Jan 17, 2018 16:07 PM
Highlights
Petitioners complete pre-act chronology: Day 1 of arguments over; hearing will resume tomorrow
Meanwhile... Aadhaar tweets out 'myth busters' intermittently; claims banking, financial data not tracked via UIDAI
United Kingdom revoked it biometric database, petitioner tells SC
Architecture that allows surveillance not permissible: Divan
Justices AK Sikri and DY Chandrachud seek to know how is the Aadhaar biometrics system different from the biometrics for US Visa?
Ensuring Aadhaar data is not misused not enough to grant it legality, petitioners argue in case
Justice Chandrachud asked that if the government ensures that Aadhaar data is used only for the purpose it is collected, will it address the concerns raised by the petitioners. To this the petitioner's lawyer replied that the design in itself is bad as it allows State domination. Shyam Divan further argued that the problem is not that whether the State is actually tracking its citizens or not but the fact that the Aadhaar makes it possible.
Aadhaar alters the relationship between the citizen and the State
Senior Advocate Shyam Divan today submitted in court that Aadhaar seems too alter the relationship between the citizen and the State, while diminishing the status of the citizen. All rights, a citizen could earlier freely assert have now been made part of a “compulsory barter”, averring, “The barter compels the citizen to give up his biometrics ‘voluntarily’, unless the number is seeded in databases of the service provider, the citizen is denied access to these most essential facilities. "Inalienable and natural rights are dependent on a compulsory exaction.”
As reported by Live and Law
'People's Constitution is being sought to be converted into a State's Constitution'
Collection of crucial biometric data for 7 years illegal, passing Aadhaar act doesn't cure illegality, petitioner tells court
Hearing resumes, final arguments in Aadhaar case begins
The final arguments in Aadhaar case begin before the Constitution Bench of Supreme Court. At the start of the arguments, Attorney General sought time bound arguments. A-G reminded the Bench that Ramjanmabhoomi land title dispute case is also scheduled to be taken up from 8 February.
Retired High Court judge and accused IM Quddusi moves CBI court against leak of phone records
Since Supreme Court's 2013 verdict on homosexuality, at least 10 countries have legalised homosexuality
A total of five countries — Uruguay, New Zealand, France, Brazil, and England and Wales — legalised gay sex in 2013. Here is the full report on how the world has changed its views on homosexuality since 2013.
Judges meeting for lunch
India Today reported that the CJI is meeting the judges for lunch. Three of the dissenting judges are present at the meeting. Justice Chelameswar is absent. Justice Bobde and Justice Goel are not present as well.
Petitioners' profiles
Hearing to resume at 2.30 pm
Shyam Divan explains the different aspects of the project
Meanwhile companies are unable to stop themselves from sending informative messages
Shyam Divan takes Court through work of the petitioners to counter the State's claims that there are only elitist concerns against Aadhaar
The petitioners include ex-servicemen, social workers, Magsaysay award winners among others.
Shyam Divan for the petitioners: Aadhaar a system of exclusion
Shyam Divan for the petitioners: You cannot live as a citizen of India without an Aadhaar
Shyam Divan is taking the court through the history of the case
Link to Shyam Divan's opening statement
The petitioners' alternative argument
Petitioners: The State is empowered with a ‘switch’ by which it can cause the civil death of an individual
Shyam Divan lays out the scope of the constitutional challenge
Petitioners: The case at hand is unique. There are few judicial precedents to guide us
Petitioners argue that if the Aadhaar programme is allowed to continue unimpeded, it will hollow out the Constitution
Attorney-General KK Venugopal asks for time allotment for arguments
The Aadhaar bench has assembled in Courtroom 1
"Tuesday was a sunny day at the Supreme Court after days of clouds over its cohesiveness and probity"
"A new day seems to be in order in the Supreme Court after clouds over its cohesiveness and probity. The CJI should now show the light and redeem the institution's glory by getting all his brother and sister judges along, to end this crisis and convert it into a chance to bring about all necessary institutional reforms," writes Utkarsh Anand on News18.
Main arguments before the court
Livelaw reported that the petitioners argue that details for Aadhaar are collected by private contractors and NGOs hired by UIDAI without any safeguard. This makes them prone to misuse. They claimed that empirical research shows that the biometric identification denoted for UID, namely the the iris scan and fingerprint identification, is faulty and is could be abused.
Five-judge bench led by CJI Dipak Misra will start hearing the Aadhaar case at 11.30 am
#AadharMythBuster being used on Twitter to promote Aadhaar
Union ministers including Ravi Shankar Prasad and Rajyavardhan Rathore are using #AadharMythBuster to extol the virtues of Aadhaar.
Some policy experts are not impressed with those efforts.
Justice J Chelameswar is not in the Supreme Court today
Court to take up 29 pleas against Aadhaar
The court will take up 29 pleas against Aadhaar. The final hearing on the pleas challenging Aadhaar comes five years since the first was filed.
Group of private companies bat for use of Aadhaar for eKYC and background verification process
According to an Economic Times report, a petition has been filed by the Digital Lenders Association of India (DLAI) which comprises startups such as CapitalFloat, LendingKart, ZestMoney, IndiaLends as well as early-stage investment firms and companies which provide authentication services and background verifications. These companies are particularly appealing to ensure advantages such as eKYC offered by Aadhaar help a lot in real-time verification of customers.
Legally speaking, the petition is being termed as an 'intervention application' which has yet to be accepted by the SC. There is no clarity on when it will be heard according to legal experts who have spoken to ET.
Number of people issued Aadhaar numbers has increased manifold since SC started hearing Aadhaar petitions
In the five years that the Supreme Court has been hearing the Aadhaar petitions, the number of people issued Aadhaar numbers have gone up from 20-25 crore in 2012 to 119 crore, reports NDTV.
'Aadhaar: Enabling a form of supersurveillance', argues Suhrith Parthasarathy
Suhrith Parthasarathy argues in The Hindu that the government will, no doubt, argue that Aadhaar can bring about many benefits. However any policy, howsoever poorly framed, will likely bring about certain gains. The question is ultimately one of proportionality and justice. Arguing that the government's aim is to create a seamless police state, which will chill our freedom and give the State rampant power he asks whether the Supreme Court will dare to stop this.
Policy expert Alok Prasanna Kumar weighs in on the possible change of bench in the Loya case
'Aadhaar is an evolving endeavour and UIDAI responsive to public concerns', argues Nandan Nilekani
In an article in the Hindustan Times, Nandan Nilekani argues that the concern about the ‘linking’ of Aadhaar to various services are over-hyped and baseless.
He goes on to insist that we should "applaud the UIDAI for being responsive to the concerns of the public. We need to recognise that providing a unique, secure identification, with instant authentication anywhere, to 1.3 billion Indians is an evolving endeavour."
Major untoward incidents that have happened with Aadhaar
Despite the number of reports over the last couple of years, UIDAI has constantly maintained that the server and the data itself, especially biometric data is safe.
However there are numerous instances where incidents have come up where Aadhaar's secureness has been questioned. These include app-based flaws, disclosures on government websites, third party leaks, sale of data etc. Click here for report on all of these incidents.
Bench hearing Loya case might be changed
Developments in Bofors case could affect Loya case
The Supreme Court made certain observations in the Bofors case regarding who can file a case in criminal matters, reported The Times of India. This could have an effect on the Loya case as all the PILs in the case have been filed by advocate associations or individuals who had no connection with the judge.
RECAP: Judge Loya died due to 'heart attack', no cause for suspicion, says Nagpur Police
The Nagpur Police on Tuesday said that there was no cause for suspicion regarding the death of judge Loya and that he had indeed died of a heart attack.
"Nagpur Police undertook a thorough investigation in this case and his death was due to a heart attack", Shivaji Bodkhe, Joint Commissioner of Police, Nagpur told reporters. "The postmortem, as well as the forensic reports too, confirm the same. There was nothing unusual in the report," he said.
RECAP: Prashant Bhushan files complaint against CJI Dipak Misra, requests five senior judges to conduct inquiry
Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan on Tuesday said he had filed a complaint against Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra in the medical college scam case and requested five senior most apex court judges, including the four rebel judges, to hold an in-house inquiry into the matter.
Updates for 17 January begin here
Discussions expected to continue tomorrow
The discussions are expected to continue tomorrow, according to NDTV. However it could take some time to resolve everything as many issues were raised by the dissenting judgments.
CJI initiates peace talks with four dissenting judges
The discussion took between the CJI and the four dissenting judges, reported CNN-News18. The meeting was cordial and everyone agreed that the issues were important than the personalities. The issues are expected to be resolved by the end of the week.
CJI meets the four dissenting judges. Holds talks for 15 minutes over possible solutions to the issues raised
No specific date fixed for the matter
The Supreme Court, without fixing any specific date, lists the matter for hearing after a week.
Certain documents to remain confidential
Maharashtra government tells Supreme Court that barring certain confidential reports placed by it, the petitioners can access other documents.
SC said that all documents must be given to me: Tehseen Poonawala
Tehseen Poonawala told Times Now that SC has ordered that all documents should be given over to him. He said that his faith in the judiciary has been restored as the case was not dismissed.
Next date for hearing not fixed
Maharashtra government handed over documents in a sealed cover to SC
Judge BH Loya death case adjourned in SC
Judge BH Loya's death case must not be confidential, the Supreme Court said in a 5-minute hearing. Everything must be before the public.
Absolutely no crisis now in SC, says Bar Council of India
The Bar Council of India on Tuesday said there was "absolutely no crisis now" in the Supreme Court and normalcy will be restored soon in the higher judiciary that saw four top judges coming out in the open against the Chief Justice of India.
Constitution bench on Wednesday will start hearings on Aadhaar, homosexuality, adultery
A Constitution Bench comprising CJI Dipak Misra, Justice AK Sikri, Justice AM Khanwilkar, Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice Ashok Bhushan has been constituted to hear important cases including those on Aadhaar, decriminalisation of homosexuality, validity of adultery law under IPC, entry of women into Sabarimala temple etc. It will start the hearings from 17 January.
The arguments in the petition
BR Lone's petition sought a probe saying there were several contradictions emerging in the matter, according to The Indian Express. Tehseen Poonawala, in his plea contended that circumstances of the death of the judge were “questionable, mysterious and contradicting”.
Supreme Court will hear two pleas seeking a probe in Judge Loya's death
CBI judge BH Loya, was hearing the Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case when he passed away. After doubts were raised around the circumstances of his death, two pleas were filed by BR Lone, a Maharashtra-based journalist and activist Tehseen Poonawala, seeking a probe in the death.
A-G Venugopal does a U-turn, says Supreme Court not resolved yet
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.
Here are the five key questions raised in open letter to CJI
No disciplinary action against 4 judges
"All four senior most judges have resolved the differences and are attending the court. There is no need of any action on these four judges; all of them are honest and men of integrity," said BCI Chairman, Manan Kumar Misra.
The story is over, says BCI; asks politicos to not take advantage of issue
The Bar Council of India (BCI) on Monday said its members have met 15 judges of the Supreme Court following the crisis in the apex judiciary and they have assured that the issues have been resolved. "Kahani khatam ho gaya (the story is now over)", BCI Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra told a press conference in New Delhi. He also said that political parties should not try and take mileage out of the January 12 press conference by the four senior most apex court judges to flag some problems, including the assigning of cases.
Didn't want any political party tpo take advantage: BCI
"We did not want any political party to take advantage of the situation. Everyone are discharging their duties and everything has been resolved as the Attorney General has also said," BCI chief Manan Mishra told media on Monday.
Why drag Justice Loya case into this, asks BCI chief
"Why drag the Judge Loya case into this? As you can see, Judge Loya's family has said that they do not have any doubts on the matter," says BCI chief Manan Kumar Misra.
The family of Justice BH Loya on Sunday said the death of the special CBI judge, who was hearing the Sohrabuddin Sheikh "fake encounter" case, was being politicised and urged all parties to refrain from taking advantage of the situation.
Justice Loya’s son, Anuj, said he did not have any doubts about the way his father died three years ago. "I had an emotional turmoil, hence I had suspicions about his death. But now we don't have any doubts about the way he died," he told reporters at a press conference.
No more rebellion, says BCI chief
Two days after four Supreme Court judges held a press conference citing lack of accountability and integrity in the apex court, the Bar Council of India told the media on Monday that "it was an internal issue and it has been resolved internally."
When asked how can such a major development be solved "internally", BCI chief Manan Kumar Mishra said that it was a matter "within a family" which has been resolved after the judges meet in the CJI's chambers at 10.30 on Monday morning.
Four judges resolve issue after a morning meeting
RECAP: Absolute powers of Chief Justice of India need to be checked, says SC lawyer
Advocate Gautam Bhatia, in a series of tweets, said on Friday that in the last 20 years, the office of the Chief Justice of India has received a lot of power without having any system of accountability to keep it in check.
Bhatia argued that two features in the Indian legal system — "the splitting up of the Supreme Court into multiple different benches, and the massive backlog of cases" — make these powers problematic. "In this context, the Chief Justice's powers to assign cases to benches and to decide when a case is to be heard become very significant," he said in one tweet.
"The Chief Justice's administrative power effectively transform itself into a power to significantly influence the outcomes of cases (sic)," Bhatia further said.
RECAP: Yashwant Sinha lauds rebel SC judges, says Cabinet ministers should also speak up without fear
Sinha said "if four senior most Supreme Court judges say democracy is under threat, we have to take their words very seriously""
"Every citizen who feels for democracy should speak up. I will ask party (BJP) leaders and senior cabinet ministers to speak up. I will appeal to them to get rid of their fears and speak up," he said.
Sinha, however, insisted that it was for the apex court to sort out the crisis after the four senior judges virtually revolted against the country's chief justice on Friday, raising questions on "selective" case allocation and certain judicial orders.
RECAP: SCBA president Vikas Singh meets CJI Dipak Misra
Supreme Court Bar Association president Vikas Singh on Sunday met the Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra and handed over a resolution on the crisis in the apex judiciary to him. The senior lawyer told PTI that he handed over a copy of the SCBA resolution to the CJI, who assured him that he would look into it.
"I met the CJI and handed over a copy of the resolution. He said that he would look into it and ensure there was congeniality in the Supreme Court at the earliest," Singh told PTI after his 15-minute meeting with the CJI.
PTI
Four former retired justices write open letter
An open letter by former apex court judge PB Sawant, ex-chief justice of Delhi High Court AP Shah, former Madras High Court judge K Chandru and ex-Bombay High Court judge H Suresh was given to the media. It has also gone viral on social media.
Justice Shah confirmed having written an open letter along with the other retired judges and told PTI, "We have written the open letter which the other judges named in the letter have also consented to."
He said that the view expressed by the retired judges is "quite similar to the views of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) that till this crisis is resolved, the important matters should be listed before a five-judge Constitution bench of senior judges".
A-G says 'everything has been settled now'
Attorney General KK Venugopal was quoted by NDTV as saying that everything has been settled after an informal meeting in the morning today. he added that the courts are functioning. Nevertheless, Chief Justice Misra is yet to reach out to Justices Jasti Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan Lokur and Kurien Joseph, who took him on in an extraordinary press conference on Friday last.
RP Luthra urges CJI to intervene, claims conspiracy to destroy institution
According to NDTV, Supreme Court advocate RP Luthra has raised the judges issue before the Chief Justice of India's bench. The advocate is believed to have said that there is conspiracy to destroy the institution and Misra must take action. The report added that Misra listened to him and smiled without answering him.
Four retired judges write open letter to CJI
Four retired judges including an ex-Supreme Court judge have written an open letter to the Chief Justice of India urging him to resolve the ongoing crisis. According to an Economic Times report, the four judges have backed the four rebelling judges on the issue of allocation of cases.
Scenes at the Supreme Court lounge today
According to NDTV, every day, before work begins, all judges convene at the judges lounge and have coffee. However, the report claimed that on Monday, all court staff were asked to leave the lounge.
Work will go on as usual, say sources
Regardless of the roster, it will be "business as usual" today at the Supreme Court, the four judges have reportedly told members of the Bar Council. "The judges will hear whatever is assigned to them," said sources.
All four rebel judges resume work
Most courts commence work
A-G says everything is okay in Supreme Court
According to Times Now, Attorney General KK Venugopal, who is heading to the Supreme Court, has said that all the courts will be functioning as usual and that everything is okay in the Supreme Court.
Bobde emerging as a peacekeeper, says report
According to a News18 report, Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde is brokering peace between Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra on one side and four other senior-most judges – Justices J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan B Lokur and Kurian Joseph – on the other.
RECAP: Congress claims 'Democracy is in danger'
The Congress said "democracy is in danger" after four senior-most Supreme Court judges came out in the open to say that the situation in the apex court was "not in order".
"We are very concerned to hear 4 judges of the Supreme Court expressed concerns about the functioning of the Supreme Court. #DemocracyInDanger," the Congress' official Twitter handle said.
All you need to know about controversial RP Luthra case
The RP Luthra case is at the centre of the whole fiasco. To convey the "less than desirable" things taking place inside the apex court, the four justices referred to a letter that they had written to the Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra. The letter mentions an order passed in the case RP Luthra vs Union Of India Ministry Of Law And Another respondents passed on 27 October. What does the order in the RP Luthra case say that made the four justices speak publicly against the CJI?
Based on the letter to the CJI, the four justices made public on Friday, it seems clear that the main point of contention at present is the delay in implementing the Memorandum of Procedure towards the appointment of judges in India. "...there should be no further delay in finalisation of MOP in larger public interest," the SC order in the Luthra case had said and was reiterated by the four judges as well in their letter to the CJI.
Is Caste an issue in Supreme Court?
Of frequent reference is also the case of caste. It is argued that the judiciary, populated by as much as 95 percent of its constituency by individuals of the Brahmin caste, is Brahmanical. This criticism resurfaced in the defiance and subsequent punishment of Justice CS Karnan whose persecution, it is said, was about his caste.
Read full report here.
Three more cases to be heard by Constitution bench
According to Hindustan Times, there are three more cases that will be heard by the Constitution bench this week. One of the cases refers to an IPC code that makes adultery a criminal offense for a man but not a woman. Another case that will come up for hearing is Section 377, which criminalizes homosexuality. The final case pertains to the ban on women from entering the Sabarimala temple in Kerala.
Aadhaar validity petition to be heard on Wednesday
According to Hindustan Times, the petition challenging the validity of the Aadhaar scheme will be heard by a five-member Constitutional bench on Wednesday.
Bar Council of India chairman says issue will be resolved
'Super sensitive' cases handled by junior judges in past
According to The Times of India, there have been fifteen 'super sensitive' cases which have been handled by junior judges and not the four senior-most judges of the Supreme Court. These cases include Bofors, Rajiv Gandhi assassination, LK Advani's trial in Babri masjid demolition, Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter, Best Bakery and the case that changed how BCCI, reported the publication.
The Supreme Court crisis was waiting to happen
For those who have access to portals of the Supreme Court, the spectacle of four of its senior most judges raising the banner of revolt against their Chief Justice did not come as a surprise, but rather a conspiracy to alter the course of history.
“It was brewing for some time” is the general refrain if you talk to anyone conversant with what is going on. Letters were being secretly written to judges and circulating, pointing out skeletons in cupboards hidden from public view. Insinuation and innuendo over the formation of benches on certain issues of critical economic and political importance were the order of the day.
And there were all indications that there was something stinking in the corridors of the Supreme Court, to borrow a phrase from Justice Markandey Katju (he was referring to the Allahabad High Court). All this was exposed in a jiffy as the judges pointed fingers at CJI’s alleged indiscretion in allocating cases to benches and his other administrative functioning.
Read the full analysis here.
Bar Council of India chairman meets rebel judges, to hold press conference today
RECAP: BCI chief meets CJI
A seven-member Bar Council India (BCI) panel led by its chairman Manan Kumar Mishra had a 50-minute meeting with the CJI after hectic parleys with several apex court judges, with whom they shared the views of the apex body of the Bar regulating the lawyers.
RECAP: Judge BH Loya's son speaks to media
"Our family is pained by the chain of events in past few days. Please don't harass us," Judge BH Loya's son, Anuj Loya said to the media during a press conference on Sunday.
RECAP: CJI Misra meets BCI members, promises resolution soon
Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra on Sunday separately met high-level delegations of top two lawyers' bodies -- BCI and SCBA -- and assured them that the crisis erupting after the revolt by the four seniormost judges against him would be sorted out soon and congeniality would prevail.
Updates for 15 January begin
Matter should not be played out in public: SC Bar Association
The Supreme Court Bar Association said that instead of playing out in public, the matter should be resolved in closed court. SCBA president Vikas Singh said that the association will meet the CJI before meeting the four judges.
The matter cannot go out in the media again: BCI chairman
BCI chairman Mishra said that the matter has to be sorted out anyhow and cannot go out in the media again. On behalf on the Bar Council of India, he also appealed to the judges not to create such an opportunity again.
He further said that the first move is to meet the rest of the judges, which means all judges excluding the CJI and the four judges who wrote the letter, reported News18.
SC judges should not have gone public: Bar Council of India
"There are enough mechanisms to address this inhouse. We discussed the contents of the letter. We have decided to form a seven-member delegation of judges. We will be meeting all the judges at the Supreme Court. We have already got appointment from 50 percent of the SC judges," said BCI chairman Manan Mishra
'Bar Council of India discussed the letter'
The Bar Council of India discussed the contents of the letter sent to the CJI on Friday, said Manan Mishra, council chairman.
Bar Council of India meet ends
News18 reported that Bar Council of India's meeting has ended and it is expected to address media shortly.
Only procedural problems, says Justice Kurian Joseph
Justice Kurian Joseph said there was no constitutional crisis in the apex court and there are only problems in procedure they had objected to. "There will be no constitutional crisis and there are only problems in procedures and that will be corrected," Justice Kurian told reporters. IANS
There is no crisis: Justice Ranjan Gogoi
Justice Ranjan Gogoi said that "there is no crisis" when asked about the way forward to resolve the crisis. Asked whether their (judges') act had amounted to a violation of discipline, Gogoi refused to comment - PTI
Bar Council of India seeks appointment with CJI Dipak Misra: News18
Supreme Court Bar Association meeting begins : News18
Attorney General KK Venugopal hopes crisis will be 'settled' soon
Attorney General KK Venugopal expressed the hope that the crisis in the top judiciary following a revolt by four Supreme Court judges would be "settled".
"Let's hope everything works out very well. I am sure everything will be settled," he told reporters in New Delhi.
'Holding presser for minor issue of roster is saddening': Bar Council of India chairman, Manan Mishra
According to ANI, chairman of Bar Council of India Manan Kumar Mishra criticised the four Supreme Court judges for holding a press conference on Friday. "Holding a press conference on a minor issue of roster is saddening," he said.
Mishra further added that Bar Council is set to have a meeting at 5 pm on Saturday and meet the four senior judges on Sunday. "We have a meeting at 5 pm today (Saturday). Tomorrow (Sunday) our delegation will meet those senior judges, Chief Justice of India and other judges and request them to not bring issues like these in front of public," he said.
'No question of CJI's impeachment,' says SC Bar Association president Vikas Singh
The Supreme Court Bar Association on Saturday dismissed possibility of Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra's impeachment and said there was "no question" of it.
“There is no question of impeachment in this case. This has to be addressed within the system rather than going to press like this. You go for a press conference to reveal, but the intention of this press conference was to conceal,” he told News18.
“This has led to imagination of the country running wild. The institution derives its respect for the credibility it has garnered over these years. If the credibility goes, who will respect the institution? The press conference has only led to speculation,” he added.
Ex-finance minister Yashwant Sinha attacks government, says democracy under threat
Speaking to reporters, former finance minister Yashwant Sinha attacked the Central government over the short Winter Session of Parliament and said, "If the country's Parliament is not in order, the Supreme Court is not in order, then democracy is under threat in the country. If the four senior judges have gone public then how is it a Supreme Court matter alone? If you read the letter, one thing is clear that Supreme Court judges or benches were appointed selectively to hear certain cases."
He further added that people would be failing in their national duty if they did not take note of this. "If political parties, or anyone concerned about the future of democracy in the country, don't take note of this, we fail in out national duty. It is a serious matter. All those who care about the future of the country and of democracy should raise their voice," Sinha said.
Attorney-General KK Venugopal leaves from residence in New Delhi
Nripendra Misra, Principal Secretary to Prime Minister, meets CJI Dipak Misra
CJI Dipak Misra consults few other Supreme Court judges, reports CNN-News18
RECAP: It was normal day in the Supreme Court, no hint of press conference
Nothing seemed amiss when the Supreme Court started work at 10.30 am on Friday, as always. Judges strode out of their chambers, lawyers fussed through the papers, litigants hung around and reporters took their assigned seats in court rooms.
But a brewing judicial firestorm, invisible to all except four judges, erupted an hour later, taking the nation by surprise and plunging the judiciary into an unprecedented crisis whose reverberations will continue to ring for years to come.
Around 11.30 am, Justice J Chelameswar and Justice Kurian Joseph rose for the day in their respective court rooms, numbered 2 and 5. Justice Ranjan Gogoi, in the meantime, rushed through and disposed of most of the day's listed business, while Justice Madan B Lokur heard matters in his chamber.
All four of them left the Supreme Court premises within minutes and gathered at the 4, Tughlaq Road Bungalow in Lutyen's Delhi, the official residence of Justice Chelameswar to hold an unscheduled press conference – no Supreme Court judge had ever addressed the media publicly.
The news of their sudden exit spread like wildfire in the corridors of the apex court, sending a shockwave among the journalists, lawyers and litigants and leading the scribes to scramble to the venue of the presser, about four kilometres away.
-PTI
Principal Secretary to Narendra Modi, Nripendra Misra, spotted outside CJI's house
SC Bar Association to hold meeting at 5 pm
CNN-News18 reported that the Supreme Court Bar Association will hold a meeting on Saturday over the judges' press conference on Friday at 5 pm. The SC Bar Association chief Vikas Singh will brief media at 6 pm.
A-G KK Venugopal says conflict will be completely settled
Speaking to CNN-News18, Attorney General of India KK Venugopal said the press conference held by four senior Supreme Court judges could impact public confidence. "Public confidence in the Supreme Court of India may be affected. We will settle this matter completely," he said.
Profile of the four SC judges who held the press conference: Justice Jasti Chelameswar
He is the second senior most judge of the apex court after Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra.
Justice Chelameswar had stoked controversy several times and was in the news for not attending the collegium meetings on the appointment of judges for higher judiciary.
Justice Chelameswar was the lone judge who had dissented when a five-judge bench had struck down the constitution amendment and held as unconstitutional the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act. He was part of the nine-judge constitution bench which had declared right to privacy as a fundamental right.
Justice Chelameswar, who is set to retire as an apex court judge on 22 June this year, has also dealt with several important issues including Aadhaar and the JNU case which had witnessed violence inside the Patiala House Court complex in New Delhi.
No telephonic conversation has taken place between CJI, SC judges, reports CNN-News18
Former ASG Vikas Singh says judges' press conference was not planned, should have said something 'substantial'
Speaking to ANI, former additional solicitor general of India and the Supreme Court Bar Association president Vikas Singh said, "If they had to come for a press conference, then they should have said something substantial. Just creating doubts in the minds of people will not serve the interest of the judiciary. This was not properly planned. They didn't say anything about Justice Loya."
Omar Abdullah voices support for SC judges, says 'worst thing we can do is wish it away'
RECAP: Four SC judges call for press conference, accuse CJI Dipak Misra of 'breaching rules'
Divisions in the Supreme Court burst out in the open on Friday when four senior most judges took an unprecedented step of addressing the media to accuse Chief Justice Dipak Misra of breaching rules in assigning cases to appropriate benches, with one of them pointing to the plea regarding the mysterious death of Special CBI judge BH Loya.
At a hurriedly called press conference at his residence, Justice J Chelameswar and three other colleagues said the Supreme Court administration was "not in order" and their efforts to persuade Justice Misra even this morning "with a specific request" failed, forcing them to "communicate with the nation" directly.
The four judges — Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice Kurian Joseph and Justice Madan B Lokur besides Justice Chelameswar — released a letter they wrote to Justice Misra a couple of months ago, conceding that he was the master of roster but that was "not a recognition of any superior authority, legal or factual of the Chief Justice over his colleagues".
-IANS
Supreme Court Bar Association to hold a meeting, address press later today
Allegations made by 4 judges must be looked into: Rahul Gandhi
"All citizens are looking at this issue and it must be addressed. It is an unprecedented move, so the questions raised by the four judges should be thoroughly looked into," Rahul Gandhi said.
Senior most judges should hear PIL in death of Justice Loya, says Congress party
Speaking to the press, Congress spokesperson said that while the Congress party was deeply disturbed by these development, we would request the senior most judges to hear the case and appoint an independent SIT to probe it.
Issues raised by judges very disturbing: RS Surjewala
Surjewala quoting the letter written by the four judges said that the Congress party is deeply disturbed by these developments.
Judiciary will resolve internal matter on its own: MoS Law PP Chaudhary
"The judiciary is independent and reputed. They will resolve it themselves. The government should have no need to intervene," said MoS Law PP Chaudhary.
Explainer: What is a Supreme Court roster that the dissenting judges had objections to?
In the early years of its existence, the SC had only 7 judges and they would all hear matters together. But as the court expanded and its workload increased, the Supreme Court became an institution with multiple benches.
The record of the allotment of cases to benches is called the roster. The CJI is the first amongst equals at the Supreme Court and his judgments carry no more weight than any other judge of the court. But the CJI does have more administrative powers, which includes control on the roster. This means it is up to the CJI to decide which set of judges hears which matters.
A particular judge may have domain expertise in an area of law and therefore would be suitable for a particular matter while another judge may not. These decisions are often taken by the Chief Justice while assigning matters. While there is usually a system that is followed for most regular cases, when it comes to constituting special benches or assigning matters of constitutional import, the exercise of this power becomes as important as some of the decisions of the court itself.
How RP Luthra case played a part in igniting present controversy
The case of RP Luthra versus Union of India was specifically mentioned in the letter sent by four judges of the Supreme Court to the Chief Justice of India. The case pertained to appointments to the higher judiciary and the memorandum of procedure for doing so—issues which were highlighted in the press conference called by the judges on Friday.
Read the full article detailing the case here
Attorney General KK Venugopal says press conference 'could have been avoided'
Attorney General KK Venugopal said the unprecedented move by the four Supreme Court judges in holding a press conference "could have been avoided" and the judges would now have to act in "statesmanship" to ensure complete harmony.
"What has happened today could have been avoided. The judges will now have to act in statesmanship and ensure that the divisiveness is wholly neutralised and total harmony and mutual understanding will prevail in future," he said. - PTI
Irreparable damage done to judiciary: Santosh Hegde
Expressing deep anguish over four Supreme Court judges going public on issues related to the apex court, former Solicitor General of India N Santosh Hegde today said he was "devastated" by their action which has caused "irreparable" damage to the institution.
"As a retired judge of the Supreme Court, I feel devastated. "For some reason or the other, their cause is justified, (but) relief they are seeking is wrong...going to the media? No. Judiciary was always considered as a family. Family disputes are never taken to the streets," he told PTI.
Legal fraternity says it's unprecedented, shocking
The decision of four senior-most judges of the Supreme Court to hold a press conference was today termed as "unprecedented" by the legal fraternity, with some experts terming it as "shocking" while some others saying there could have been some compelling reasons for such a move.
Parliament cannot remain mute spectator of crisis in judiciary: D Raja
Meanwhile... what is the controversy surrounding Justice Loya's death
The Supreme Court is currently hearing a plea seeking inquiry on the death of Justice Loya. This issue was raised up today after four Supreme Court judges went public with their allegations that CJI is not following procedure on allotment of cases. When one of the media persons asked the judges, whether their grievance about allotment of cases also related to the Justice Loya case, the judges nodded in affirmative.
Congress top brass reaches Rahul Gandhi's residence before party's press meet
The Congress senior leadership is in a huddle before they address the press on the party's stand on the crisis that unraveled today. The party will hold a press briefing at 6.30 pm.
Government not to interfere in 'clash of personalities' within judiciary: Reports
Mamata Banerjee remarks on "extreme interference" of Centre with Judiciary
Mamata Banerjee tweeted on the issue, expressing her anguish and disappointment on the open fall out between Supreme Court judges. She, however, also added that "extreme interference of Central Government with Judiciary" is dangerous for society.
Justice Chelameswar ready for dialogue to sort out issue: CNN-News18 report
News18 said it has learnt from sources close to Justice Chelameswar that the judge is ready to hold a discussion with his colleagues to sort out the issue. He has also reportedly said that his intention was never to humiliate the CJI but he did what he could to raise his point.
CJI yet to make up his mind on briefing media: Reports
According to CNN-News18, Chief Justice Dipak Misra will confirm later whether he wishes to go public with his response over the issues raised by four senior Supreme Court judges. It is likely that the CJI chooses to address his colleagues first, before going public with a statement, the report said.
Kapil Sibal to meet Rahul Gandhi at 5 pm, before Congress presser
CPI's D Raja meets Justice Chelameswar
According to a report by CNN-News28, CPI's D Raja met Justice Chelameswar, one of the four Supreme Court judges who held a press conference earlier today, speaking out publicly against the CJI. However, it was not clear whether Raja's meeting with the Supreme Court judge was related to the matter. Reports say that Raja shares a close family relation with Justice Chelameswar.
Meanwhile, CPM, another Left-wing party has demanded a thorough investigation "to understand how the independence and integrity of judiciary was being affected."
The dissenting judges had different views on Collegium system of appointment
CNN-News 18 reported that the four judges who have come out in public against the CJI had differences on the matter of appointment of judges. While Justice Chelameswar was the lone dissenting voice, who spoke against the Collegium system, Justice Gogoi and Justice Joseph, however, said that the traditional system must be upheld.
Congress to hold press briefing at 6.30 pm over Supreme Court controversy
Judges should not make it an issue of egos but principle: Former judge AK Ganguly
Former Supreme Court Judge AK Ganguli said that the CJI cannot afford to be rigid on issues like this after all this is not a matter of clash of egos but a matter of principle. These should have been thrashed out within the institution, he added. "I heard that the justices said that they tried and approached the CJI but did not succeed. Well, the CJI must try and resolve this internally as he must first earn the confidence of his peers, that is how he will become the Chief and not my merely by seniority," Ganguly said.
Yes CJI is master of rosters but he can't be arbitrary in his choices: Indira Jaisingh
Speaking to IndiaToday senior advocate Indira Jaisingh said, "We all know that the Chief Justice of India is the master of the roasters, but he cannot behave arbitrarily. He has to take on record the feedback provided by his colleagues."
Bar Council of India says it was unaware of judges' internal matter, will meet tomorrow to discuss issue
Subramanian Swamy bats for establishing consensus amid judges, says these are men of great of integrity
“We can't criticise them, they are men of great integrity and have sacrificed a lot of their legal career, where they could've made money as senior counsels. We must respect them. PM must ensure that the four judges and the CJI, in fact whole Supreme Court come to one opinion and proceed further,” Swamy said.
Four judges went public against CJI because issues raised were grave: Justice Mudgal
Let the judges sort it out among themselves: Centre plans to distance itself from crisis
Top government sources told News18 that the Centre is likely to distance itself from the crisis, in the hope that the judges will be able to sort it among themselves.
"This is an internal matter of the judiciary, it is best they solve it themselves,” a top source told CNN-News18, adding that Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has received a copy of the dissenting note circulated by Justice J Chelameswar, Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice Madan B Lokur and Justice Kurian Joseph.
No CJI press briefing at 2 pm: Misra met Venugopal for Unitech case
CJI Dipak Misra had called Attorney General KK Venugopal for the Unitech case and not about the judges press conference as some media outlets are putting it out, Bar and Bench tweeted. "The CJI is hearing cases like he does everyday," Bar and Bench further reported.
We are concerned, says Congress
The Congress said "democracy is in danger" after four seniormost Supreme Court judges came out in the open to say that the situation in the apex court was "not in order".
"We are very concerned to hear 4 judges of the Supreme Court expressed concerns about the functioning of the Supreme Court. #DemocracyInDanger," the Congress' official Twitter handle said.
People have the right to know what's going on within the judiciary: Indira Jaisingh
If the four judges have taken this last resort it also says that there is something seriously wrong with the judiciary: Santosh Hegde
Writing for News18, former Supreme Court judge Santosh Hegde says:
"It is very unfortunate that the internal dispute of the judiciary was brought out in this manner publicly. What the four judges have done today by holding the press conference to bring out their dispute in public is that they’ve denigrated the institution of judiciary.
There are reasons for people to be aggrieved with the system but unlike other wings – the executive and the legislature – the judiciary doesn’t discuss its disputes in public. It is bound to protect its own integrity.
By this I don’t mean to imply that I’m supporting the Chief Justice of India. The four judges have got good reasons to challenge the monopoly of the CJI. But they should have challenged him in the confines of the four walls of the judiciary.
Going to the press is the last resort. And if the four judges have taken this last resort it also says that there is something seriously wrong with the judiciary. But I wish these issues were settled internally. The required changes within the system should have been brought about internally."
Read full report here
Some damage, yes, but not permanent damage: Ex-advocate general Maharashtra
Former Maharashtra Advocate General Shreehari Aney says, "I agree, some damage has been done to the office of Chief Justice of India (CJI), but this is not a permanent damage"
Market crashed to its lowest to 34349.99 points at 12:45 pm
The markets responded adversely after four Supreme Court judges held a press conference for the first time in the history of Independent India.
The Bombay Stock Exchange stood at 34606 points at noon on Friday and fell to 34550.2 points at 12:15 pm, at the time the press conference of the Supreme Court judges began and further fell to 34423.8 at 12:35 pm, exactly five minutes after the press conference ended, plummeting by 183 points in a span of half an hour.
The market crashed to its lowest to 34349.99 points at 12:45 pm, taking a hit by 256 points as compared to the figures at noon before the presser.
CJI Misra will make a statement soon
According to sources in the Supreme Court, CJI Dipak Misra is likely to make a statement at a special hearing in a short while when the apex court resumes its proceedings for the day.
Soon after the four judges ended their media address, the Chief Justice had called upon Attorney General KK Venugopal to chart his next course of action.
This proves there's a serious dispute within the judiciary: Former SC judge
Judges had to come before media and take this unprecedented step. This means that there is a serious dispute, either with Chief Justice of India or some internal dispute, says PB Sawant, former Supreme Court judge on press conference by four sititng Supreme Court judges
CJI determines which judges/benches hears cases, but when the matter involves the CJI himself, the chief shouldn't be involved
The Chief Justice determines which judges/benches hears cases of a particular type (i.e Criminal Appeals go to X, Civil Appeals go to Y, Writs go to Z). When it comes to constituting larger benches though, that becomes CJI's absolute discretion (3 or more judges), just like any boss can decide who gets what special assignments. Ideally, the Chief gets this power cause he's expected to know who's the best person for the job.
But it comes with a caveat, when the matter involves the Chief himself, the Chief shouldn't be involved in the decision to preserve integrity of the institution. But in this case, Misra didn't follow that procedure at all.
They've denigrated the institution of judiciary: Former SC judge Santosh Hegde
Former Supreme Court judge Santosh Hegde, was quoted as saying, "It is very unfortunate that the internal dispute of the judiciary was brought out in this manner publicly. What the four judges have done today by holding the press conference to bring out their dispute in public is that they’ve denigrated the institution of judiciary... When the judiciary goes for public opinion it spells the end of judiciary."
Deeply sad and pained, says Salman Khurshid
"Deeply sad and pained by the development. Also feel a sense of agony that highest court of land should come under such severe stress that forces judges to address the media," says senior advocate Salman Khurshid.
Modi speaks to law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad
Sources tell ANI Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad about the allegations made by the four Supreme Court sitting judges.
‘Chief Justice is only the first amongst the equals — nothing more or nothing less’
On Friday, Justices J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan B Lokur and Kurian Joseph addressed the media to highlight their grievances about how cases are allocated in the Supreme Court. Read the full text of the letter issued by the four Supreme Court judges
CJI to address media at 2 pm
5 top questions raised in the 7-page letter:
1) Is top judiciary being run on whims?
2) Are most senior judges being bypassed by the CJI?
3) Are all big cases against Govt being assigned to "selective" benches
4) Is Govt interfering with highest judiciary?
5) Doesn't CJI need to answer?
This matter is extremely painful, and scary: Former law minister Ashwini Kumar
We can't criticise them: Subramanian Swamy on 4-sitting SC judges' media briefing
We can't criticise them, they are men of great integrity and have sacrificed a lot of their legal career, where they could've made money as senior counsels. We must respect them. Prime Minister must ensure that the four judges and Chief Justice of India, in fact, the whole Supreme Court come to one opinion and proceed further, ANI quoted Subramanian Swamy as saying.
CJI Dipak Misra to meet Attorney General KK Venugopal shortly
The Chief Justice seeks to consult Venugopal on how to move further on this unprecedented development.
Excerpts from the 7-page letter written to CJI Misra from 4 sitting Supreme Court judges:
"Certain orders... have adversely affected judicial functioning... and independence of High Courts..." In another part, the letter reads, "Well settled... that Chief Justice is only first among equals – nothing more, nothing less."
CJI Dipak Misra will meet Attorney General KK Venugopal
Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra will meet Attorney General KK Venugopal shortly after the country’s top judiciary was rocked by an unprecedented press conference by four sitting judges. News18 reports that the meeting will take place at 1.30 pm.
We aren't mentioning details just to avoid embarrassing the institution
"We are not mentioning details only to avoid embarrassing the institution but note that such departures have already damaged the image of this instituition to some extent," Supreme Court judges' letter to CJI Dipak Misra.
All four should be impeached: Retired HC judge RS Sodhi
Retired Delhi HC judge Justice RS Sodhi hits out at Supreme Court judges — Justice J Chelameswar, Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice Madan B Lokur and Justice Kurien Joseph — for speaking out against CJI Misra.
“I think all four should be impeached. Four judges cannot come together and speak against the CJI like this. Why should the CJI cow down to them?”
It is immature and childish behaviour: Retired judge RS Sodhi
"Issues don't matter. It is their complaint on administrative matter. They are only 4, there are 23 others. 4 get together and show the Chief Justice in a poor light. It is immature & childish behaviour," Justice R S Sodhi was quoted as saying by ANI.
Watch: Four top Supreme Court judges address media
SC judges must have had compelling reason to call for the press conference
"It's quite shocking. There must have been compelling reasons for the senior-most judges to have adopted this course of action. One could see pain on their faces while they were speaking," SC advocated KTS Tulsi tells ANI.
Narendra Modi summons Law Minister after unprecedented press conference
Justice Ranjan Gogoi, on being asked if it is about CBI Judge BH Loya said, 'yes'
Earlier clashes between CJI Dipak Misra and the other judges
Bar and Bench had detailed the clash which took place between the CJI and Justice Chelameswar in November in Kamini Jaiswal's petition.
Chief Justice has been the subject of criticism
Senior Advocate and former president of the SC Bar Association Dushyant Dave in The Indian Express has pointed at serious issues in the constitution of benches and the allocation of work to such benches by the Chief Justice.
Images from the press conference
The judges have risen and the press conference is over
Justice Gogoi says there is nothing else to say, everything is in the letter
Senior Advocate Indira Jaisingh was present at the venue too
The judges try to distribute copies of the letter they gave to the CJI
However, they only had one copy of the letter. They have sent someone to get some photocopies of the letter.
Justice Chelameswar continues, mentions BH Loya death case
"The four of them gave a signed letter to the CJI. We wanted a thing to be done in a particular manner. The thing was done an unsatisfactory manner," said Justice Chelameswar.
"Today we went to the Chief Justice and asked him to do a certain thing," says Justice Chelameswar.
When pressed by the media, he acquiesced that this was about the BH Loya death case.
It appears that the four judges are upset with the Chief Justice Dipak Misra
Justice Chelameswar starts speaking
"With no pleasure in our hearts that we do this. But sometimes, the administration of the Supreme Court is not in order. We owe a responsibility to the nation to do this," says Justice Chelameswar.
"The democracy cannot survive without an independent judiciary. All our efforts to convince the Chief Justice have failed," he added.
Press conference about to start
Justice Chelameswar along with Justice Lokur and Kurian Joseph at the venue
16:07 (IST)
Petitioners complete pre-act chronology: Day 1 of arguments over; hearing will resume tomorrow
15:59 (IST)
Meanwhile... Aadhaar tweets out 'myth busters' intermittently; claims banking, financial data not tracked via UIDAI
15:49 (IST)
15:47 (IST)
United Kingdom revoked it biometric database, petitioner tells SC
15:44 (IST)
Architecture that allows surveillance not permissible: Divan
15:31 (IST)
Justices AK Sikri and DY Chandrachud seek to know how is the Aadhaar biometrics system different from the biometrics for US Visa?
15:27 (IST)
Ensuring Aadhaar data is not misused not enough to grant it legality, petitioners argue in case
Justice Chandrachud asked that if the government ensures that Aadhaar data is used only for the purpose it is collected, will it address the concerns raised by the petitioners. To this the petitioner's lawyer replied that the design in itself is bad as it allows State domination. Shyam Divan further argued that the problem is not that whether the State is actually tracking its citizens or not but the fact that the Aadhaar makes it possible.
15:13 (IST)
Aadhaar alters the relationship between the citizen and the State
Senior Advocate Shyam Divan today submitted in court that Aadhaar seems too alter the relationship between the citizen and the State, while diminishing the status of the citizen. All rights, a citizen could earlier freely assert have now been made part of a “compulsory barter”, averring, “The barter compels the citizen to give up his biometrics ‘voluntarily’, unless the number is seeded in databases of the service provider, the citizen is denied access to these most essential facilities. "Inalienable and natural rights are dependent on a compulsory exaction.”
As reported by Live and Law
15:05 (IST)
'People's Constitution is being sought to be converted into a State's Constitution'
14:54 (IST)
Aadhaar act cannot be used to deny basic amenities, rights or benefits, says petitioner's lawyer Shyam Divan
14:50 (IST)
Collection of crucial biometric data for 7 years illegal, passing Aadhaar act doesn't cure illegality, petitioner tells court
14:41 (IST)
Aadhaar a giant electronic leash, says petitioner in court
14:34 (IST)
Hearing resumes, final arguments in Aadhaar case begins
The final arguments in Aadhaar case begin before the Constitution Bench of Supreme Court. At the start of the arguments, Attorney General sought time bound arguments. A-G reminded the Bench that Ramjanmabhoomi land title dispute case is also scheduled to be taken up from 8 February.
14:11 (IST)
Retired High Court judge and accused IM Quddusi moves CBI court against leak of phone records
14:09 (IST)
Since Supreme Court's 2013 verdict on homosexuality, at least 10 countries have legalised homosexuality
A total of five countries — Uruguay, New Zealand, France, Brazil, and England and Wales — legalised gay sex in 2013. Here is the full report on how the world has changed its views on homosexuality since 2013.
14:03 (IST)
What two recent SC judgments tell us about court's altered view on sexuality and privacy in India
Ajay Kumar writing for Firstpost details that two judgments, one regarding rights of transgender people and the other about the Right to Privacy show that the court's view has changed considerably on sexuality and privacy.
13:29 (IST)
Judges meeting for lunch
India Today reported that the CJI is meeting the judges for lunch. Three of the dissenting judges are present at the meeting. Justice Chelameswar is absent. Justice Bobde and Justice Goel are not present as well.
13:27 (IST)
Petitioners' profiles
12:54 (IST)
Hearing to resume at 2.30 pm
12:50 (IST)
Shyam Divan explains the different aspects of the project
12:34 (IST)
Meanwhile companies are unable to stop themselves from sending informative messages
12:30 (IST)
Shyam Divan takes Court through work of the petitioners to counter the State's claims that there are only elitist concerns against Aadhaar
The petitioners include ex-servicemen, social workers, Magsaysay award winners among others.
12:19 (IST)
Shyam Divan for the petitioners: Aadhaar a system of exclusion
12:15 (IST)
Shyam Divan for the petitioners: You cannot live as a citizen of India without an Aadhaar
12:07 (IST)
Shyam Divan is taking the court through the history of the case
12:03 (IST)
Link to Shyam Divan's opening statement
11:59 (IST)
The petitioners' alternative argument
11:56 (IST)
Petitioners: The State is empowered with a ‘switch’ by which it can cause the civil death of an individual
11:56 (IST)
Shyam Divan lays out the scope of the constitutional challenge
11:51 (IST)
Petitioners: The case at hand is unique. There are few judicial precedents to guide us
11:48 (IST)
Petitioners argue that if the Aadhaar programme is allowed to continue unimpeded, it will hollow out the Constitution
11:45 (IST)
Attorney-General KK Venugopal asks for time allotment for arguments
11:38 (IST)
The Aadhaar bench has assembled in Courtroom 1
11:31 (IST)
"Tuesday was a sunny day at the Supreme Court after days of clouds over its cohesiveness and probity"
"A new day seems to be in order in the Supreme Court after clouds over its cohesiveness and probity. The CJI should now show the light and redeem the institution's glory by getting all his brother and sister judges along, to end this crisis and convert it into a chance to bring about all necessary institutional reforms," writes Utkarsh Anand on News18.
11:03 (IST)
Main arguments before the court
Livelaw reported that the petitioners argue that details for Aadhaar are collected by private contractors and NGOs hired by UIDAI without any safeguard. This makes them prone to misuse. They claimed that empirical research shows that the biometric identification denoted for UID, namely the the iris scan and fingerprint identification, is faulty and is could be abused.
10:58 (IST)
Five-judge bench led by CJI Dipak Misra will start hearing the Aadhaar case at 11.30 am
10:50 (IST)
#AadharMythBuster being used on Twitter to promote Aadhaar
Union ministers including Ravi Shankar Prasad and Rajyavardhan Rathore are using #AadharMythBuster to extol the virtues of Aadhaar.
Some policy experts are not impressed with those efforts.
10:44 (IST)
Justice J Chelameswar is not in the Supreme Court today
10:37 (IST)
Why the Chief Justice's power must be kept in check
The Chief Justice is largely sheltered from public view while exercising his administrative powers, according to Business Standard. The authors write, "This creates an administrative authority, free of many of the constraints imposed on other agencies. The administrative powers of the Chief Justice have grown with time. However, the Court has failed to devise a parallel mechanism to keep a check on these powers... A slew of corrective measures are now required."
10:26 (IST)
Court to take up 29 pleas against Aadhaar
The court will take up 29 pleas against Aadhaar. The final hearing on the pleas challenging Aadhaar comes five years since the first was filed.
10:15 (IST)
Group of private companies bat for use of Aadhaar for eKYC and background verification process
According to an Economic Times report, a petition has been filed by the Digital Lenders Association of India (DLAI) which comprises startups such as CapitalFloat, LendingKart, ZestMoney, IndiaLends as well as early-stage investment firms and companies which provide authentication services and background verifications. These companies are particularly appealing to ensure advantages such as eKYC offered by Aadhaar help a lot in real-time verification of customers.
Legally speaking, the petition is being termed as an 'intervention application' which has yet to be accepted by the SC. There is no clarity on when it will be heard according to legal experts who have spoken to ET.
10:12 (IST)
Number of people issued Aadhaar numbers has increased manifold since SC started hearing Aadhaar petitions
In the five years that the Supreme Court has been hearing the Aadhaar petitions, the number of people issued Aadhaar numbers have gone up from 20-25 crore in 2012 to 119 crore, reports NDTV.
09:57 (IST)
'Aadhaar: Enabling a form of supersurveillance', argues Suhrith Parthasarathy
Suhrith Parthasarathy argues in The Hindu that the government will, no doubt, argue that Aadhaar can bring about many benefits. However any policy, howsoever poorly framed, will likely bring about certain gains. The question is ultimately one of proportionality and justice. Arguing that the government's aim is to create a seamless police state, which will chill our freedom and give the State rampant power he asks whether the Supreme Court will dare to stop this.
09:47 (IST)
Policy expert Alok Prasanna Kumar weighs in on the possible change of bench in the Loya case
09:12 (IST)
'Aadhaar is an evolving endeavour and UIDAI responsive to public concerns', argues Nandan Nilekani
In an article in the Hindustan Times, Nandan Nilekani argues that the concern about the ‘linking’ of Aadhaar to various services are over-hyped and baseless.
He goes on to insist that we should "applaud the UIDAI for being responsive to the concerns of the public. We need to recognise that providing a unique, secure identification, with instant authentication anywhere, to 1.3 billion Indians is an evolving endeavour."
09:08 (IST)
Major untoward incidents that have happened with Aadhaar
Despite the number of reports over the last couple of years, UIDAI has constantly maintained that the server and the data itself, especially biometric data is safe.
However there are numerous instances where incidents have come up where Aadhaar's secureness has been questioned. These include app-based flaws, disclosures on government websites, third party leaks, sale of data etc. Click here for report on all of these incidents.
08:59 (IST)
Bench hearing Loya case might be changed
08:53 (IST)
Developments in Bofors case could affect Loya case
The Supreme Court made certain observations in the Bofors case regarding who can file a case in criminal matters, reported The Times of India. This could have an effect on the Loya case as all the PILs in the case have been filed by advocate associations or individuals who had no connection with the judge.
08:17 (IST)
RECAP: Judge Loya died due to 'heart attack', no cause for suspicion, says Nagpur Police
The Nagpur Police on Tuesday said that there was no cause for suspicion regarding the death of judge Loya and that he had indeed died of a heart attack.
"Nagpur Police undertook a thorough investigation in this case and his death was due to a heart attack", Shivaji Bodkhe, Joint Commissioner of Police, Nagpur told reporters. "The postmortem, as well as the forensic reports too, confirm the same. There was nothing unusual in the report," he said.
08:16 (IST)
Dipak Misra's olive branch to ‘rebel’ Supreme Court judges may not contain trust deficit in judiciary
Sreemoy Talukdar argued in Firstpost that the nature of the gambit is such that the dissenting judges must take their dissent to its logical conclusion. Any attempts at papering over the crisis or shutting the eyelids closely and hoping the dust storm will subside won't work.