The Wire: New Delhi: Saturday, 10 December 2022.
RTI activist Anjali Bharadwaj had cited an interview of retired SC judge and Collegium member, Justice Madan B. Lokur, in which he said that the decision to elevate two HC chief justices, taken during a meeting on December 12, 2018, was 'changed' after he had retired.
The Supreme Court has dismissed a petition which sought details on a 2018 Supreme Court Collegium meeting under the Right to Information Act.
The court said that the discussion cannot be disclosed and that only the final decision should be uploaded on the website.
LiveLaw reported RTI activist Anjali Bharadwaj cited an interview of retired Supreme Court judge, Justice Madan B. Lokur, in which he said that the decision to elevate two high court chief justices, taken during a meeting on December 12, 2018, was changed after he had retired.
The Collegium then had comprised Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi and judges who were then the most senior, Justices Madan B. Lokur and A.K. Sikri, and future CJIs Justices S.A. Bobde and N.V. Ramana.
Bharadwaj had thus asked for information on the meeting. The Delhi high court that dismissed her plea, following which she filed a special leave petition with the apex court.
Today, Justice M.R. Shah said that a resolution passed by the Collegium in 2019 showed that no final decision had been arrived at in the 2018 meeting. The bench also had Justice C.T. Ravikumar.
“Some discussions might have taken place, but unless and until a final decision is taken after due consultation and on the basis of the final decision a resolution is drawn, whatever discussions which have taken place cannot be said to be a final decision of the collegium,” Justice Shah said.
The judge said that the decision arrived at at the 2018 meeting of Collegium can “be said to be a tentative decision” at the most.
“It is to be noted that a final decision is taken by the collegium only after due consultation. During the consultation, if some discussion takes place, but no final decision is taken and no resolution is drawn, it cannot be said that any final decision is taken by the collegium,” he said.
The bench said that consultations were not completed and concluded in the 2018 meeting, “though some decisions were taken.”
The court noted that because no final decision was taken and no final resolution drawn and signed by members, the Collegium is not required to disclose details of the 2018 meeting.
“Therefore, as such no final decision was taken which has culminated into a final resolution drawn and signed by all the members of the collegium. The same was not required to be disclosed to the public domain that too under the RTI Act. Whatever is discussed shall not be in the public domain. As per the resolution dated 03.10.2017, only the the final resolution and the decision is required to be uploaded in the Supreme Court website,” it said, according to LiveLaw.
The court said it does not want to comment on the reports in the press about Justice Lokur’s interview.
This order comes as the Supreme Court is engaged in a back and forth with the Union government over the present system to appoint and transfer judges to the Supreme Court and high courts through the decision of the Collegium.
“Just because there are some sections of the society who express a view against the collegium system, it will not cease to the law of the land,” Justice S.K. Kaul told the Union government yesterday.
RTI activist Anjali Bharadwaj had cited an interview of retired SC judge and Collegium member, Justice Madan B. Lokur, in which he said that the decision to elevate two HC chief justices, taken during a meeting on December 12, 2018, was 'changed' after he had retired.
The Supreme Court has dismissed a petition which sought details on a 2018 Supreme Court Collegium meeting under the Right to Information Act.
The court said that the discussion cannot be disclosed and that only the final decision should be uploaded on the website.
LiveLaw reported RTI activist Anjali Bharadwaj cited an interview of retired Supreme Court judge, Justice Madan B. Lokur, in which he said that the decision to elevate two high court chief justices, taken during a meeting on December 12, 2018, was changed after he had retired.
The Collegium then had comprised Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi and judges who were then the most senior, Justices Madan B. Lokur and A.K. Sikri, and future CJIs Justices S.A. Bobde and N.V. Ramana.
Bharadwaj had thus asked for information on the meeting. The Delhi high court that dismissed her plea, following which she filed a special leave petition with the apex court.
Today, Justice M.R. Shah said that a resolution passed by the Collegium in 2019 showed that no final decision had been arrived at in the 2018 meeting. The bench also had Justice C.T. Ravikumar.
“Some discussions might have taken place, but unless and until a final decision is taken after due consultation and on the basis of the final decision a resolution is drawn, whatever discussions which have taken place cannot be said to be a final decision of the collegium,” Justice Shah said.
The judge said that the decision arrived at at the 2018 meeting of Collegium can “be said to be a tentative decision” at the most.
“It is to be noted that a final decision is taken by the collegium only after due consultation. During the consultation, if some discussion takes place, but no final decision is taken and no resolution is drawn, it cannot be said that any final decision is taken by the collegium,” he said.
The bench said that consultations were not completed and concluded in the 2018 meeting, “though some decisions were taken.”
The court noted that because no final decision was taken and no final resolution drawn and signed by members, the Collegium is not required to disclose details of the 2018 meeting.
“Therefore, as such no final decision was taken which has culminated into a final resolution drawn and signed by all the members of the collegium. The same was not required to be disclosed to the public domain that too under the RTI Act. Whatever is discussed shall not be in the public domain. As per the resolution dated 03.10.2017, only the the final resolution and the decision is required to be uploaded in the Supreme Court website,” it said, according to LiveLaw.
The court said it does not want to comment on the reports in the press about Justice Lokur’s interview.
This order comes as the Supreme Court is engaged in a back and forth with the Union government over the present system to appoint and transfer judges to the Supreme Court and high courts through the decision of the Collegium.
“Just because there are some sections of the society who express a view against the collegium system, it will not cease to the law of the land,” Justice S.K. Kaul told the Union government yesterday.