Chief Justice refuses comment on timing of judges meet, raised by SC Judge
New Delhi: Chief Justice of India H L Dattu on Saturday refused to comment on his Supreme Court colleague Kurian Joseph's objection to the holding of the judges' conference on Good Friday and Easter weekend and rubbished reports that another judge had also disapproved the event's timing.
"No comments," Justice Dattu said when asked about his reaction to the views expressed by Justice Joseph in his letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi regretting his inability to attend dinner for top judges tonight for the same reason.
The CJI rubbished reports that another Supreme Court judge, Justice Vikramjit Sen, had also objected to holding of the conference between holy period of Good Friday and Easter.
"There was no confrontation, no statement, no objection from Justice Vikramjit Sen. This was wrongly reported," he said, adding that Justice Sen did not communicate and "even talked" with him on the issue.
"There was no communication from Justice Sen regarding any disagreement with regard to the conference and it is wrongly reported by media," he said.
The CJI was answering queries of media persons while emerging out of the reception hosted by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) to felicitate Supreme Court judges and Chief Justices of 24 High Courts who have been here for the three day conference.
Meanwhile, Justice K T Thomas, former judge of Supreme Court, said that there was nothing wrong in convening a meeting of Chief Justices on Good Friday.
"It is not a meeting of judges. It is the meeting of Chief Justices of the country. There is only one Christian Chief Justice and he is Chief Justice of Uttaranchal Justice K
M Joseph. He has no objection," Thomas told PTI today.
Not only that Chief Justices Conference in 2007 was held on Good Friday, Thomas said.
"Public duty should come first," Thomas said.
"If a Christian doctor says that he would not attend an emergency case because it is a Good Friday. Similarly, if a Christian top police officer says that he would not attend duty on Good Friday, what will happen," Thomas asked.
"Public duty must come first," he added. Thomas also said that in a country like the US where the majority of the population is Christian, Good Friday is not even a holiday.
