Collegium a multi-member body whose tentative decision cannot be brought in public domain: SC
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a plea seeking to disclose the details of a collegium meeting held on December 12, 2018 under the Right to Information Act.
A bench of Justices MR Shah and CT Ravikumar said that only resolutions drawn and signed by all collegium members can be said to be a final decision. Tentative resolutions drawn upon discussion and consultation among the members cannot be said to be final unless they are signed by all of them, it said.
"Collegium is a multi-member body whose tentative decision cannot be brought in the public domain," it said.
The top court said it cannot place reliance on media reports and the interview of a former member of the collegium and doesn't want to comment on statements made by the former judge.
In a resolution passed on January 10, 2019, the collegium, whose combination was changed due to the retirement of Justice MB Lokur, mentioned that in its meeting on December 12, 2018 only consultations were held on certain names but no final decision was taken.
The top court passed the verdict on a petition by RTI activist Anjali Bhardwaj against a Delhi High Court order dismissing her plea seeking the agenda of the Supreme Court Collegium's meeting held on December 12, 2018, when certain decisions were purportedly taken on the elevation of some judges to the apex court.
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Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
