CJI flags 'protocol breach'

Stopping short of calling it a protocol violation, Chief Justice of India BR Gavai Sunday expressed his displeasure over the absence of senior Maharashtra government officials, including the Chief Secretary, from his first public event in the state after taking oath as the head of the Judiciary.

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"It’s a question of respect by the other organs of the institution to the judiciary," said CJI Gavai, addressing a felicitation programme organised here in his honour.

"If the Chief Justice of India is visiting Maharashtra for the first time, and the state’s Chief Secretary, the Director General of Police, and the Mumbai Police Commissioner don’t feel it appropriate to be present, then they need to reflect on that. There’s nothing new about the protocol — it’s a matter of respect from one constitutional institution to another," he said.