Former High Court judges and legal luminaries have expressed concern and disappointment after four sitting judges of the Supreme Court held an unprecedented press conference over allocation of cases in the top judiciary. At the press meet, Justice J Chelameswar, the second senior-most judge in the top court, said the administration of the top court is "not in order" and that efforts to convince Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra had "failed". Chelameswar sounded caution over the "survival of democracy" and replying to a question on whether the CJI should be impeached said it was for the nation to "decide". Apart from J Chelameswar, other sitting judges present included Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice Madan B Lokur and Justice Kurien Joseph, who rank third, fourth and fifth in the order of seniority, respectively. Soon after the press conference, CJI Dipak Misra met Attorney General KK Venugopal, while sources said the government is not likely to intervene anytime soon.



As it happened.

Jan 12, 2018 9:52 pm (IST) BJP ATTACKS CONGRESS: Launching a scathing attack on Congress, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said Rahul Gandhi is playing politics over the Supreme Court issue while it's an internal matter of the apex court. Congress is finding opportunities at the place where it should not. In the country, judiciary plays an independent role and the AG has given his statement...Simply can't drag judiciary into politics and the issue which is pending in the SC should not be discussed in public. No politics should be played at all. We are surprised and pained that Congress, which has been rejected number of times by people in elections, is trying to gain political mileage and it has exposed itself, Patra added.

Jan 12, 2018 9:21 pm (IST) Yogendra Yadav on SC Judges Mutiny 4 senior judges are alleging that there’s selective picking of judges for various cases/benches, it’s extremely serious, and must be looked into: @_YogendraYadav, @_swarajIndia, tells @zakka_jacob on #FaceoffAt9 | #SCJudgesMutiny pic.twitter.com/OsqAc0tiHa — News18 (@CNNnews18) January 12, 2018

Jan 12, 2018 9:03 pm (IST) Former judge RS Sodhi came down heavily on four judges of the apex court who voiced their dissent against CJI Dipak Misra. He said, "I think all 4 judges should be impeached, they have no business to sit there and deliver verdicts anymore. This trade unionism is wrong. Democracy in danger is not for them to say, we have Parliament, courts and police functioning".

Jan 12, 2018 8:56 pm (IST) Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah on Friday said Communist Party of India leader D Raja shouldn't have met Justice Chelameswar amid the ongoing crisis. Abdullah tweeted: I have the greatest regard for D Raja sahib but this move of his to rush to Justice Chelameshwar's house was hasty and ill considered. Plays in to the hands of those who want to discredit what the honourable judges said.

Jan 12, 2018 7:58 pm (IST) RAHUL GANDHI ON SC JUDGES: Addressing a press conference in New Delhi on Friday, Congress president Rahul Gandhi said extremely important issues have been raised by the four Supreme Court judges. This has never happened before...Even Justice Loya's death needs to be investigated properly by two apex court judges. All citizens who love the idea of justice are looking at this issue and it needs to be addressed.

Jan 12, 2018 7:50 pm (IST) Issues raised by four SC judges exteremely disturbing and have far-reaching consequences for values we hold sacred, says Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala.

Jan 12, 2018 7:40 pm (IST) Congress leaders address a press conference on SC crisis in New Delhi. Top party leaders Manish Tewari, Kapil Sibal, P Chidambaram and Randeep Surjewala are present at the press conference.

Jan 12, 2018 6:30 pm (IST) AG K K VENUGOPAL REACTS: Attorney General K K Venugopal on Friday said the unprecedented move by the four senior Supreme Court judges in holding a press conference "could have been avoided" and the judges would now have to act in "statesmanship" to ensure complete harmony."This is what all of us at the bar want and I am sure that the judges, including the CJI, will rise to the occasion," he said, but declined to come out with details of his deliberations with the CJI and others. I had promised to the judges that I would not speak to the media," Venugopal said.

Jan 12, 2018 6:09 pm (IST) CLICK TO READ | Justice Chelameswar: Meet The 'Rebel' in the Supreme Court Prior to being named to the Supreme Court, Justice Chelameswar served as the Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court from May 2007 to March 2010 and Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court from March 2010 to October 2011.

Jan 12, 2018 6:03 pm (IST) UJJWAL NIKAM ON SC CRISIS: I am totally disappointed by today's act. The faith of common man on SC is lost. This should not be treated as an example by lower judiciary like session’s court & high court. I agree that their grievances are of very serious nature...But this is not the right way to resolve a crisis...They should have addressed the issues to President of India, says special public prosecutor Nikam.

Jan 12, 2018 5:39 pm (IST) CLICK TO READ | Supreme Court Judges' Rebellion Against Chief Justice Misra Explained Maharashtra-based journalist BR Lone filed an independent plea seeking a fair probe into the mysterious death of Loya, who was hearing the sensitive Sohrabuddin encounter case - in which various police officers and BJP President Amit Shah were named as parties.

Jan 12, 2018 5:24 pm (IST)

SHASHI THAROOR TO CNN-NEWS 18: Politicians must refrain from commenting on the conduct of the judiciary as it is unconstitutional...but it's fair to point out that there have been lapses on part of the government also. When doubt is cast on the judiciary, people would be concerned. Hope that CJI Dipak Misra and judges will resolve this issue and government also does not delay appointment of judges. Politicians have their part to play...The solution has to come from within the judiciary itself...If public loses faith in judiciary, democracy would not survive. I worry about preserving our judiciary. Democracy is biggest strength in our country...For that we need strong judiciary.

Jan 12, 2018 5:10 pm (IST) Delhi: Congress leaders and senior advocates Salman Khurshid, Manish Tewari and P Chidambaram also arrive at Rahul Gandhi's residence. #SupremeCourt pic.twitter.com/6CS3BqJfNJ — ANI (@ANI) January 12, 2018

Jan 12, 2018 5:07 pm (IST) D RAJA ON MEETING JUSTICE CHELAMESWAR: "Have known Justice Chelameswar for a long time. When I came to know about the extraordinary step taken by him and other judges, I thought I must meet him. I am not giving it a political colour. These are concerns for everybody, it’s about future of country and democracy...I went to meet him to find out the real problem and he discussed the problem with me...As a political person, I have to think why this is happening in our country. However, Parliament is supreme in our democracy. In such a situation, Parliament will have to debate this mater and sort out problems by meaningful suggestion," says D Raja.

Jan 12, 2018 4:55 pm (IST) This is an unfortunate incident. These things should not have been spoken in public...credibility of an institution like Supreme Court could be eroded, says Former Chief Justice of India KG Balakarishnan.

Jan 12, 2018 4:50 pm (IST) We should also hear the verdict of CJI Dipak Misra...These four judges are also sober...The CJI assigns subject matter to the judges but there is a convention in which senior judges hear important cases. The current AG must take help from former AGs and hold dialogue with the judges and resolve this issue...Ideal situation is that the CJI must speak with these judges and resolve this issue, says retired chief justice of Punjab and Haryana, High Court Justice Mukul Mudgal.

Jan 12, 2018 4:38 pm (IST) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday took to Twitter to expresses her views on the Supreme Court issue. She wrote: We are deeply anguished with the developments today about the apex court. What we are getting from the statement of the four senior hon'ble judges of Supreme Court about the affairs of the court makes us really sad as citizens...Judiciary and media are the pillars of democracy. Extreme interference of Central government in the internal matter of judiciary is dangerous for democracy.

Jan 12, 2018 4:22 pm (IST) Judiciary must be kept independent.In a democracy, it is the responsibility of government to make sure things function smoothly. This is entirely the responsibility of Law Ministry to see that judiciary carries out its responsibility property. This incident is very unfortunate and government must take steps to restore confidence of the people in judiciary, says former law minister H R Bhardwaj

Jan 12, 2018 4:11 pm (IST) Communist Party of India leader D. Raja meets Justice Chelameswar while Congress is likely to hold a press conference at 6.30 pm over Supreme Court crisis: Sources

Jan 12, 2018 4:07 pm (IST) Threat for judiciary is not from outside but from within...Now people will raise questions. Faith in the Supreme Court must be restored ...Government alone cannot solve this problem. It has to be resolved by the judges themselves. All the four judges must sit together...All this needs to be restored and repaired and the SC should get back the confidence of the people, says former Judge of the Supreme Court of India Justice Asok Kumar Ganguly.

Jan 12, 2018 3:44 pm (IST) Twenty-five of the 31 Supreme Court judges meet the four dissenting judges who addressed the media this morning, reports Utkarsh Anand, Legal Editor, CNN-News18.

Jan 12, 2018 3:36 pm (IST) EXCERPT FROM THE LETTER: The letter that the four Supreme Court judges wrote to CJI Dipak Misra read: "We are not mentioning details only to avoid embarrassing the institution but note that such departures have already damaged the image of this institution to some extent."

Jan 12, 2018 3:25 pm (IST) Senior lawyer Salman Khurshid voices concern, says, “The judiciary is divided everywhere but that does not lead to a permanent divide among judges. I hope the government does not interfere in the matter and this has to be sorted by the court.”

Jan 12, 2018 3:19 pm (IST) Damage done to the office of Chief Justice of India: Shreehari Aney, former Maharashtra Advocate General. #EXCLUSIVE | I agree, some damage has been done to the office of Chief Justice of India (CJI), but this is not a permanent damage: Shreehari Aney, Ex-Maharashtra Advocate General, tells @bhupendrachaube | #SCJudgesMutiny pic.twitter.com/o0HE3hZg67 — News18 (@CNNnews18) January 12, 2018

Jan 12, 2018 3:17 pm (IST) Justice Asok Kumar Ganguly: The CJI should exercise his power in a manner that inspires confidence in the system... allegations against the Chief Justice are very grave. The government should try to talk to the judges and evolve a consensus... this problem cannot be allowed to continue for too long. People have a right to ensure that the Supreme Court functions properly as democracy depends on the Supreme Court.

Jan 12, 2018 3:10 pm (IST) Attorney General KK Venugopal met CJI Dipak Misra but chose not to comment on the four judges’ unparalleled media address, reports CNN-News18’s Legal Editor Utkarsh Anand.