JUDGMENT :

A.K. Sikri, J.

The name of respondent No.2 is deleted from the array of parties, inasmuch as, having regard to the nature of submissions made during hearing, which would be taken note of at the appropriate place, respondent No.2 is not a necessary party.

2. The petitioner herein, who is a senior advocate practicing in this Court and enjoys credible reputation in the profession as well as in public, has filed this writ petition under Article 32 of the Constitution of India. In this writ petition, he seeks this Court to clarify the administrative authority of the Chief Justice of India (for short, the ‘Chief Justice’) as the Master of Roster and for laying down the procedure and principles to be followed in preparing the Roster for allocation of cases.

3. It may be mentioned at the outset that the petition acknowledges and accepts the legal principles that the Chief Justice is the “Master of Roster” and has the authority to allocate the cases to different Benches/Judges of the Supreme Court. It is also conceded that adherence to this principle, namely, the Chief Justice is the Master of Roster, is essentially to maintain judicial discipline and decorum. It is also stated that