SC judges meet CJI over Justice Joseph appointment row

new delhi — A group of top court judges, including those from the collegium, on Monday met Chief Justice Dipak Misra to express their concern over the Centre altering seniority of Justice K.M. Joseph by placing him at third position, after Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice Vineet Saran, in the order of appointment as top court judge.

Justice Joseph, along with Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice Vineet Saran, will be administered oath on Tuesday by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Misra.

Upset over the Centre altering the seniority of Justice Joseph by placing him at number three, the aggrieved judges urged the CJI to convey their concern to the government, which they alleged was an interference by the government in judicial appointments.

It was learnt that Chief Justice Misra has spoken to the attorneygeneral to convey the concern expressed by the judges upset over the development.

While some judges are expressing concern over government’s interference with the appointment process, Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) president Vikas Singh said that the fault lies with the collegium itself. Blaming the collegium for the mess, Vikas Singh said: “When they (collegium) made the recommendation, they should have said that it is a case of reiteration and it should be at the serial number one as his name was recommended earlier.”

In the case of Justice Joseph, the recommendation for his elevation as top court judge was made by the collegium on January 10 this year which was reiterated on July 17. —