New Delhi: Every day, the Supreme Court starts proceedings exactly at 10.30am. On Monday, the first working day after the Opposition moved an impeachment notice against Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, it did so only around 10.45am.

Apparently, an informal "snacks party" that Justice Misra had hosted for all the 24 judges had caused the 11 courtrooms to assemble 15 minutes behind schedule.

"Besides cakes and savouries, tea and coffee were served at the informal party," a source told The Telegraph. He added that the impeachment notice figured "informally" at the meeting.

Although apex court judges meet informally over coffee or tea before the start of proceedings every day, individually or in small groups, a meeting of all the 24 judges is rare, especially if there is no official agenda.

Among those present were the four senior-most judges after Justice Misra - Justices J. Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan B. Lokur and Kurian Joseph - whose allegation about the Chief Justice allocating key cases to favoured benches was one of the reasons behind the Opposition's impeachment notice.

A meeting of all the judges was held after the four senior judges made the allegation at a news conference on January 12, but it was an official one.

While the judges were meeting over snacks on Monday, news trickled in at the courtrooms and the media galleries around 10am that the Rajya Sabha Chairperson had rejected the impeachment notice.

The official order about the dismissal of the notice was uploaded on the Rajya Sabha website at 11.33am.