New Delhi: A Supreme Court judge has clashed with the Chief Justice of India over holding of a three-day long judges conference during the holy period for Christians as the meet began today to deliberate on problems facing judiciary.
Apex court judge Justice Kurian Joseph has written a letter objecting to the holding of the conference of 24 high court chief justices from Good Friday to Eastern Sunday.
"I may with deep anguish bring to your kind notice that such an important conference should not have been held when some of us, otherwise expected to be part of the event, or otherwise committed on account of the holy days when we have religious ceremonies and family get-together as well," he said in his letter to CJI H L Dattu.
Maintaining that he was not striking a communal note, Justice Joseph said such serious programmes were not held during Diwali, Dussehra, Holi, Eid, etc.
However, Justice Dattu hit back saying the question the justice had to ask himself, as he cannot ask the judge, is "whether it is institutional interest or individual interest that one should preference to".
Justice Dattu, in a letter to Justice Joseph, said assuming that religious ceremonies and family get-togethers were important, then he could asked his family to join him in Delhi.
"Several other participants are coming from distant places, leaving behind families," the CJI said.
The CJI got support from a former apex court judge Justice K T Thomas asking why Christians cannot work on Good Friday.
"In America, where 98 per cent are Christians, Good Friday is a working day. Christians can attend Church service and go to work. But in India we are obsessed with holiday culture. I am totally opposed to this holiday mania that we suffer from," Justice Thomas said.
