Mention case only before CJI, says Supreme Court

Mention case only before CJI, says Supreme Court

Context

• As the Constitution Bench declared that the Chief Justice of India is the master who alone could decide what case goes to which judge in the Supreme Court, the registry published a circular notifying lawyers and litigants not to orally mention fresh cases before any other Supreme Court judge except before the Bench presided by the Chief Justice of India.

What is this new circular?

• The circular is issued by the Registry of the Supreme Court.
• The circular asks lawyers and litigants not to orally mention fresh cases before any other Supreme Court judge except before the Bench presided over by the Chief Justice of India.
• The circular has in effect, put a stop to the practice of lawyers or litigants mentioning their cases before Justice J. Chelameswar’s court, the number two judge in the supreme court.
• The circular does not provide for a contingency where the CJI is either on leave or is unable to come to court for any other reason.

Why is this circular significant?

• The circular is significant as it was an oral mention before Justice Chelameswar’s Bench on November 9 that led to a series of events culminating in an almost spur-of-the-moment hearing by a five-judge Constitution Bench led by the Chief Justice of India on November 10.

What was the issue?

• On November 9, advocate Kamini Jaiswal had made an urgent oral mention of a petition before a two-judge Bench. The petition wanted the investigation into the medical college corruption case to be transferred from the CBI to a SIT supervised by a retired CJI.
• The petition said the FIR suspected that a conspiracy was highlighted to bribe Supreme Court judges.
• The two-judge Bench immediately listed the case for hearing on the same afternoon and ordered a Constitution Bench of the “first five judges in the order of seniority” to be set up on November 13 to hear Ms. Jaiswal’s petition.

What was the CJI’s reaction to it?

• The Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice Misra effectively prevented the scheduled hearing on November 13 by laying down the law that no two-judge Bench can command the Chief Justice of India to constitute Benches to hear cases in the Supreme Court.
• The Chief Justice of India is the sole master and carries the complete administrative prerogative over which judge should hear which case in the apex court. The Constitution Bench, in effect, nullified the two-judge Bench’s order.

Chief Justice of India

• Chief Justice is the senior most judge in the country, i.e, he is at the apex in the court of law. He sits in the supreme court, the court of Apex.
• The most powerful authority someone as a chief justice can have is, to become an acting President or vice President when the post is vacant until the next President is selected.
• CJI is constitutional post. He/she is who gives oath to president/vice President of india.
• He/she assigns judicial and administrative work to judges and registers.
• Represent India in International Judicial/ legal forum.

The appointment of CJI

• The Chief Justice is appointed by the President in consultation with such other judges of the Supreme Court and High Court as he may deem necessary.
• Convention dictates the appointment of the senior most judges of the Supreme Court as Chief Justice.
• The other judges are appointed by the President after consultation with the Chief justice and such other judges of the Supreme Court and the high courts as deemed necessary.
• The Consultation with the Chief justice is considered necessary for the appointment of any judge other than the Chief justice.

How powerful is CJI?

• MORAL POWER: Chief Justice is the senior most judge in the country, i.e, he is at the apex in the court of law. He sits in the supreme court, the court of Apex.
• POLITICAL POWER: The most powerful authority someone as a chief justice can have is, to become an acting President or vice President when the post is vacant until the next President is selected.
• LEGAL POWER: As head of the supreme court, the chief justice is responsible for the allocation of cases and appointment of constitutional benches which deal with important matters of law. Chief Justice allocates all work to the other judges who are bound to refer the matter back to him or her
• POLITICAL POWER: On the administrative side, the Chief Justice carries out the following functions: maintenance of the roster; appointment of court officials and general and miscellaneous matters relating to the supervision and functioning of the Supreme Court.

The Constitution itself clearly lays out heightened powers for the CJI. Broadly, these are:

• The CJI swears in the President and Governors;
• The President must consult with the Chief Justice before appointing Supreme Court or High Court judges;

• Article 127 gives the CJI power to appoint ad hoc Supreme Court judges
• Article 128 the power to sit retired Supreme Court judges
• Article 130 the power to sit the Court outside of Delhi (with the President’s approval)
• Article 146 the power to appoint officers and servants of the Court
• Article 222 the power to move high court judges to another high court
• Articles 257, 258, and 290 which gives the CJI the ability to appoint an arbitrator to resolve certain financial disputes between the centre and the states
• He or she is also paid a bit more than the rest of the justices, (presumably) for taking on these additional responsibilities.