“The then-CJI Misra was being controlled from outside”: reveals Justice Kurian Joseph

This press conference was reportedly in response to the assignment of the Judge Loya case to Justice Arun Mishra's bench.

New Delhi: The first time ever press conference held by four sitting Judges of Supreme Court earlier this year in January against the-then CJI Misra has revealed the Indian Judiciary was under influence and was not functioning the way it should have been.

Justice Kurian Joseph speaking about the press conference against the-then CJI said that there were “several instances of external influences on the Supreme Court,” which had forced the sitting Judges Justices J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi and Madan Lokur to address the media.

“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,” Justice Joseph told.

“Signs of influence with regard to allocation of cases to different benches selectively, to select judges who were perceived to be politically biased,” was one of the reasons the press conference was held stated Joseph, TNM reveals.

This press conference was reportedly in response to the assignment of the Judge Loya case to Justice Arun Mishra’s bench.

“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,” Justice Joseph said while interacting with media.

Decisions on critical, sensitive issues where particularly taken by then CJI without consulting others was also of the reasons behind the press conference.

“It was an institutional crisis. Systems and practices are there for a long time. It takes time to change,” he responded when asked if that has changed.

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