NEW DELHI: In the first public comments after four senior Supreme Court judges addressed a Press conference and raised concerns over the functioning of the top court, Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra on Tuesday said everyone can have an opinion and express themselves.
“Everybody has a right to say he is opinionated and has (a) right to express. I am happy to be here,” CJI Misra said at the launch of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) newsletter on Tuesday.
He praised the journal and said it “carries recognition and recollection”. The CJI added that the journal was focussed on the basic aspect of every individual, like a health camp, which was recently organised in the apex court and also emphasised diversified ideas.
Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, who was also present at the launch, said: “There is a need for a debate on simultaneous state and general elections since conducting separate elections entails huge expenditure.” High costs are paid for security, arrangements, and once the model code of conduct kicks in, a lot of decisions can’t be taken, he added.
“Can your journal provoke a debate in the country on whether we should have simultaneous elections?” Prasad asked, adding that 2018 alone would see elections in Tripura, Meghalaya, Karnataka and Chhattisgarh, and would be followed by the Lok Sabha polls in 2019.
He, however, did not mention the upcoming Assembly elections in Nagaland, scheduled for February 27.
Only few judges attended the event, and among those who gave it a miss were Justices Chelameswar and Ranjan Gogoi.
Justice Madan B Lokur and Justice Kurian Joseph attended the function and greeted the Chief Justice as well.
SCBA president Vikas Singh termed the launch of the journal historic and said it would take up social and cultural issues of lawyers, besides national issues.
On Monday, President Ram Nath Kovind pitched for simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies in his address to both Houses of Parliament, saying that frequent elections impede the speed of development as officials have to assist in conducting polls.