Chief Justice is master of roster : Supreme Court
New Delhi, July 6 : The Supreme Court on Friday reiterated that the Chief Justice alone was the "master of roster" and have powers to allocate cases to different benches.
It also cautioned against any "tinkering" as it could hurt the independence of the judiciary.
"Although the Constitution is silent on the role of the Chief Justice as 'master of roster' but it is based on healthy practice to maintain the discipline and decorum of the court," said Justice A.K.Sikri.
Justice Ashok Bhushan in a concurring but separate judgement said that it is difficult to accept the interpretation that the CJI means entire collegium. Such an interpretation would make day to day functioning difficult."
Both Justice Sikri and Justice Bhushan rejected the plea that the Supreme Court should adopt some of the practices prevailing in the top courts of other countries.
They said that there could not be a "mechanical imitation" or import of practices prevailing in the courts overseas but admitted that there was scope for improvement which they said was always happening.
The court said this while disposing of a petition by senior counsel Shanti Bhushan contending that the Chief Justice should exercise his power to allocate the cases in consultation with the four other judges in the collegium.
He had contended that the collective opinion of the collegium was much safer than the opinion of the Chief Justice alone.
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Man arrested with Rs 2.54-crore heroin in Mumbai
Mumbai (PTI): Police have arrested a man and seized over 500 grams of heroin worth Rs 2.54 crore in the illicit market from him in Mumbai, officials said on Friday.
The police's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) made the drug seizure in Santacruz in the western suburbs. The operation was conducted by the Kandivali unit of the ANC on Thursday as part of a special crackdown against drug trafficking in the area, they said.
Acting on specific inputs, an ANC team conducted a raid in Santacruz (East) and intercepted a man. During a search, the team recovered 508 grams of high-grade heroin from his possession, an official said.
The seized contraband, a highly addictive, opioid drug derived from morphine, is estimated to be worth Rs 2.54 crore in the international market, he informed.
Following the seizure, a case was registered against the man under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and he was formally placed under arrest in the early hours of Friday.
The police are currently investigating the source of the drug and trying to identify the intended recipients of the consignment, he said.
