The higher judiciary has invited another embarrassment for itself. Senior Supreme Court judge Jasti Chelameswar, who had been boycotting collegium proceedings over its alleged lack of transparency, has raised a fresh issue by asking why Uttarakhand High Court Chief Justice KM Joseph is not in the list of judges recommended for elevation to the Supreme Court. Justice Chelameswar is believed to have written a strong dissent note to the SC collegium led by Chief Justice of India JS Khehar for excluding Justice Joseph from the final list. Chelameswar in his letter said that the Uttarakhand Chief Justice was an outstanding judge who deserved to be elevated to the top court. By not elevating such a judge of integrity and competence, the collegium, which comprises the five senior-most judges off the top court, would be setting an unhealthy precedent, the letter said. Collegium members can ignore the dissent of a sole judge if the other four collegium members agree to a decision. No recommendation goes through if more than one judge dissents and hence Justice Chelameswar's dissent can be overruled, technically, by the other four members of the collegium that comprise the CJI, his likely successor Dipak Misra and Justices Ranjan Gogoi and Madan B Lokur.