New Delhi, May 18: The senior-most judge of the Supreme Court of India- Justice J Chelameswar shared the dais with the Chief Justice of India CJI Dipak Misra, on his last day. The Judge has been in news ever since he held a press conference along with other judges and almost revolted by speaking against CJI Dipak Misra. Justice Chelameswar retired today.

Justice Chelameswar, who retires on June 22, sat in a bench headed by the CJI along with Justice D Y Chandrachud as today was the last working day before the apex court goes for the long summer vacation.

It is the custom in the top court that a retiring judge, on his last day, is given the honour of sitting with the CJI in the majestic Court no 1.

Justice Chelameswar, who has been at loggerheads with the CJI over the functioning of the apex court including the allocation of sensitive cases and on the recommendation of judges for appointment to higher judiciary, maintained the tradition of sharing the dais with the CJI.

The judge ended the speculation among the legal circles that he would not be a part of the bench. The speculation had gained momentum after he had refused the invitation of the Supreme Court Bar Association which was preparing a farewell function for him today.

A large number of people, besides lawyers and litigants, thronged the courtroom this morning. There was no mentioning in the court no 1, which is usually flooded with cases and where 11 matters were listed for today.

The bench sat for a brief period and rose for the day at 11:15 AM. Senior Advocate Rajiv Dutta advocates Prashant Bhushan and Gopal Sankaranarayanan gave short farewell speeches to Justice Chelameswar.

Bhushan thanked Justice Chelameswar for "upholding democracy" and said,"On behalf of the Bar, I would like to say that it was an honour to have appeared before you. Future generations will remember your contribution to democracy and to the country."

Dutta thanked the judge for "upholding the ideals of the institution", while Sankaranarayanan expressed his gratitude towards him for the grace he has shown towards junior members of the Bar and said this would always be remembered and appreciated.

Justice Chelameswar left the courtroom with folded his hands. He had earlier declined an invitation from the SCBA for his farewell function citing personal reasons.

The judge also told the members of the bar that he had not accepted a farewell earlier when he was moving out of the Andhra Pradesh High Court to another high court.

Justice Chelameswar was born in Peddamuttevi village of Movva Mandal, Krishna district, Andhra Pradesh, the son of Jasti Lakshminarayana, a lawyer who practised at the district court, by his wife, Annapoornamma. After completing his schooling in Machilipatnam, Chelameswar enrolled at Loyola College, Chennai and took a bachelor's degree in Science with Physics as his major subject. He then studied Law and took an LLB from Andhra University, Visakhapatnam in 1976. He was formerly the Chief Justice of the High Court of Kerala and Gauhati High Court. (With Agency Inputs)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 18, 2018 04:45 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).