SC judge say no to Bar farewell

The Supreme Court of India continues to be hit by controversies — one after the other. Justice Jasti Chelameswar — the senior-most judge after Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra — has declined the Supreme Court Bar Association’s request to a attend a function to bid farewell to him.

Justice Chelameswar, who was one of the four senior-most judges and collegium members to hold a presser on January 12, is due to retire on June 22 and the SCBA wanted to organise a function to give him a warm send off in tune with the tradition followed by the bar body for decades.

Justice Chelameswar retires on June 22. However,  the farewell function was to be held held on May 18, the last working day of the top court summer vacation. Earlier, Justice AP Sen had declined to attend a farewell function on his retirement in 1988.

“We requested him twice. I had personally requested him first and then today the entire Executive Committee of the SCBA met him at his residence. We told him that it will send a wrong signal but he didn’t agree,” SCBA President and senior advocate Vikas Singh is reported to have said. He didn’t even agree to an informal farewell in the bar room, instead of the Supreme Court lawn where generally such functions are held and are attended by CJI, SC judges and advocates. Even after the January 12 presser, Justice Chelameswar has been speaking on public forums about issues confronting the judiciary.