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In a rare display of disagreement within the Indian judiciary, a division bench of the Supreme Court
comprising of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Aravind Kumar has expressed their dissatisfaction with another bench assigning a case to them. The issue at the center of the dispute is the interpretation of the rule that only the Chief Justice of India (CJI) can assign cases to benches.
The disagreement arose when a bench headed by Justice Uday Umesh Lalit assigned a case to the
bench of Justices Kaul and Kumar. The latter bench felt that the case should have been assigned by
the CJI, as per the established practice of the court. In their response, the bench of Justices Kaul and
Kumar stated, “It is a matter of grave concern that another bench assigned a case to us. The Chief
Justice of India is the only authority to allocate the cases and the order of the apex court needs to be
respected.”
The Supreme Court has long held the principle that the Chief Justice is the ultimate authority in
assigning cases to benches. This principle was established in the 1998 Supreme Court Advocates-on- Record Association vs. Union of India case, which held that the CJI is the “master of the roster” and has the exclusive power to assign cases to benches. This principle has been challenged in recent
years, with some judges arguing that the power to allocate cases should be shared among all the
judges in the court. In January 2018, four senior judges of the Supreme Court held a press
conference to criticize the allocation of cases by the then Chief Justice, Dipak Misra, and to express
their concern about the state of affairs in the court.
The incident led to a public debate about the functioning of the judiciary, with some commentators
arguing that the independence of the judiciary was at stake. Since then, the court has taken steps to
address the issue, with the CJI setting up a system of collegiums to allocate cases to benches. The
issue of assignment of cases in the Supreme Court has been a subject of controversy for several
years. The Constitution of India grants the Chief Justice of India (CJI) the power to allocate cases to
various benches of the Supreme Court. However, over the years, there have been disagreements
over the exercise of this power.
The disagreement between the two benches is likely to reignite the debate about the allocation of
cases in the Supreme Court. While the principle that only the CJI can allocate cases has been upheld
by the court, some judges continue to believe that the power to allocate cases should be shared
among all the judges in the court. The Supreme Court, as the final court of appeal in India, plays a
crucial role in upholding the rule of law and protecting the rights of citizens. The allocation of cases
is an important aspect of the functioning of the court, and it is essential that this process is
transparent and free from political interference.
As the court continues to grapple with this issue, it is important that all judges work together to
ensure that the allocation of cases is fair and impartial, and that the independence of the judiciary is
preserved.
Written By- Lakshya Sharma students of 1st year BBA LLB at Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies affiliated to Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University
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