Bengaluru: In a significant political development, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar has reportedly urged the All India Congress Committee (AICC) to honour the internal power sharing agreement by facilitating a leadership change in the state government.

Shivakumar and Home Minister Dr G. Parameshwara recently met AICC General Secretaries K.C. Venugopal (Organisation) and Randeep Singh Surjewala (Karnataka in-charge), The New Indian Express quoted its sources as saying.

Highly placed sources quoted by the newspaper said Shivakumar pressed for Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to step down after completing his two-and-a-half-year tenure in October 2025, noting that the power sharing agreement should be honoured.

A senior Congress leader mentioned that there is talk within the party that a decision on leadership change could be taken by AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi. “That is why the two general secretaries did not meet Siddaramaiah. They restricted themselves to addressing issues impacting the party and government,” he added.

Meanwhile, Venugopal and Surjewala also met the aspirants for MLC elections, with four seats lying vacant for over seven months. However, a senior Congress functionary indicated that the announcement may be delayed further due to internal opposition to three proposed nominees who are not party members.

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New Delhi: Supreme Court judge B.V. Nagarathna has recorded a dissent note against the collegium’s recommendation to elevate Patna High Court Chief Justice Vipul Manubhai Pancholi to the apex court, The Indian Express reported.

The five-member collegium, comprising Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai and Justices Surya Kant, Vikram Nath, J.K. Maheshwari, and Nagarathna, reached the decision with a 4–1 split. Justice Nagarathna, the lone woman on the bench, opposed Pancholi’s elevation, citing concerns over seniority and regional representation.

Justice Pancholi ranks 57th on the all-India seniority list of high court judges. Justice Nagarathna reportedly objected to the move, noting that it came less than three months after another judge from the Gujarat High Court, Justice N.V. Anjaria, was elevated to the Supreme Court. She argued that advancing Pancholi would bypass several senior judges and further increase Gujarat’s representation at the top court, while other high courts remain underrepresented.

Her dissenting note, according to reports, emphasized that such decisions could undermine the credibility of the collegium system and have long-term consequences for the administration of justice.

Justice Pancholi, who served nearly two decades in the Gujarat High Court, was transferred to Patna High Court in July 2023 and appointed its Chief Justice in July 2025. His elevation, along with that of Justice Anjaria, was intended to maintain Gujarat’s representation in the Supreme Court following the retirements of Justices M.R. Shah and Bela Trivedi earlier this year.

With a sanctioned strength of 34 judges, the Supreme Court follows criteria of seniority, merit, integrity, and regional balance in appointments. Justice Nagarathna’s dissent highlights ongoing debates about diversity and fairness in judicial elevations.