The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a plea seeking publication of details of the collegium meeting held on December 12, 2018, under the Right to Information Act. Justices MR Shah and CT Ravikumar said that only resolutions drafted and signed by all the members of the collegium can be considered as final decisions. Provisional resolutions drawn up on the basis of discussion and consultation among members shall not be considered final unless signed by all of them.
“The collegium is a multi-member body whose preliminary decision cannot be publicly available,” it said. The Supreme Court said it could not rely on media reports and the interview of the former collegium and did not want to comment on the former judge’s statements.
The bench, whose composition was changed due to the retirement of Justice MB Lokur, in an order dated January 10, 2019, said that in its meeting on December 12, 2018, only some names were consulted but no final decision was taken. The Supreme Court delivered its verdict on RTI activist Anjali Bhardwaj’s petition against the Delhi High Court’s order dismissing her plea regarding the agenda of the Supreme Court collegium meeting held on December 12, 2018, when certain decisions were allegedly taken to elevate certain judges to the Supreme Court .
