NEW DELHI: Two judges of the Supreme Court, Justices M B Lokur and Kurian Joseph, on Monday met Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra to protest against the Centre’s bid to lower the seniority of Justice K M Joseph, who is scheduled to take oath as a Supreme Court judge on Tuesday.
According to sources, the CJI assured them he would consult Justice Ranjan Gogoi on the issue.
Last Friday, the Centre issued a notification on the appointment of three judges to the SC according to which Justice Joseph’s name was last in the list. The notification listed Justice Indira Banerjee’s name first, followed by Justice Vineet Saran’s and then Justice Joseph’s.
As per convention, the seniority of Supreme Court judges is determined by the order of names as notified by the government.
Explaining the limited role of the Chief Justice in this situation, former CJI R M Lodha said the notification can be altered if the CJI Dipak Misra succeeds in convincing the Centre that the collegium’s recommendation has not been considered in its true spirit.
However, another former Chief Justice T S Thakur was of the view that the date of appointment as the High Court judges is the basis for determining the seniority of the judges being elevated to the SC on the same day.
According to sources in the Law Ministry, since Justice Joseph was junior to the other two judges at all India seniority level, the order of seniority was in place and no tinkering was done.
“In the all-lndia seniority of high court judges, Justice Banerjee is at No 4 while Justice Saran is at No 5. Justice Joseph is at the 39th place,” the official added.
The collegium had, on May 16, in-principle reiterated the decision to recommend Justice Joseph’s name for elevation to the SC. The recommendation was sent to the government in July and it was accepted.