Call "Full Court" To Discuss Future: 2 Top Judges Write To Chief Justice

New Delhi: Two senior Supreme Court judges have asked the Chief Justice of India, Dipak Misra, to call a "full court" of all judges to discuss "institutional issues and the future of the court", in a brief and terse letter that was sent on Sunday, two days after opposition parties submitted notice to impeach the top judge.

Sources say the Chief Justice has yet to respond to the letter from Justices Ranjan Gogoi and Madan Lokur, both members of the Supreme Court collegium or group of most senior judges.

A full court, usually called by the Chief Justice, is when all Supreme Court judges gather over a subject of public importance relating to the judiciary.

A day after sending the letter to Justice Misra's home, Justice Gogoi - next in line for Chief Justice - also raised the subject during the traditional morning tea of Supreme Court judges and called for a full court. The judges were late to court that day because of the discussion on the unprecedented impeachment move against the Chief Justice, which was rejected by Vice President Venkaiah Naidu.

The opposition had based its move on five allegations against Chief Justice Misra, which stemmed from a rare press conference called in January by four judges - Justices Gogoi, Lokur, Jasti Chelameswar and Kurian Joseph - who said without an independent judiciary, "democracy wouldn't survive". The judges had also criticized the allocation of sensitive cases to junior judges.

Since then, the rift within the top court has surfaced repeatedly.

Earlier this month, a judge had written to the Chief Justice expressing concern over the delay by the government in the appointment of two judges and said the "very life and existence" of the Supreme Court was under threat.

"History will not pardon us" if the court doesn't respond to the government's unprecedented act of sitting on the collegium's recommendation to elevate a judge and a senior advocate, Justice Kurien Joseph had written in the April 9 letter sent to 22 other judges.

Last month, Justice Jasti Chelameswar had also written to the Chief Justice expressing grave concern over the propriety of the law ministry writing directly to Karnataka High Court, despite the Collegium reiterating a name for elevation to the High Court.