CJI issues fresh roster, first 3 benches to hear PILs

CHIEF Justice Sanjiv Khanna has come out with a fresh roster for allocation of new cases to 16 benches of the Supreme Court and it has been decided that the first three courts presided over by the CJI and the two senior-most judges will hear letter petitions and PILs.

- SUCHITRA K MOHANTY

The roster for the assignment of fresh cases was notified by the apex court registry under the CJI's order and has come into effect from November 11.

The fresh petitions arising out of letters written by the citizens to the apex court and the new public interest litigations (PIL) will be heard by the benches presided over by the CJI, Justice BR Gavai and Justice Surya Kant, the two senior-most judges.

Besides the letter petitions and the PILs, subject-wise, the CJI-led bench will be dealing with a maximum number of issues, including those related to social justice, disputes related to election of the President, Vice-President and other cases related to election of MPs and MLAs, habeas corpus matters and arbitration.

The benches, presided over by Justice Kant, will hear election-related pleas.