The Chief Justice is the 'Master of Roster', has power to assign cases, rules SC in former Law minister Shanti Bhushan's petition

The Top court on Friday pronouncing its judgement in a petition by former Law Minister Shanti Bhushan ruled out that the Chief Justice is the "master of the roster" and has the power to assign cases. Bhushan's petition had called for a panel of senior judges to decide on the rostering of judges and assigning of cases to them. The government's top lawyer reportedly had opposed it, saying it will result in chaos.

"There is no dispute that the Chief Justice is the master of the roster and allocates cases to Judges. The constitution is silent on the Chief Justice. Conventions and judgements over the time and accepted by all stakeholders that the Chief Justice is first among judges and senior most," said the Supreme Court.

In April, a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra held that the Chief Justice was "master of the roster" who alone has the power of allocation of cases, virtually setting at rest the controversy raised by four of its next senior-most judges.

In the petition, former law minister had said that "master of the roster" cannot be an "unguided and unbridled" discretionary power, exercised arbitrarily by the Chief Justice by hand-picking the benches of select judges or by assigning cases to particular judges.

"It is essential that there should be one person doing this and if it has to be one person, then it has to be the CJI," the Attorney General had said.