NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday rejected a plea seeking full details of the Collegium meeting that took place on December 12, 2018, under the RTI Act, saying the discussions and consultations among Collegium members can’t be disclosed as they are not final decisions.
A bench of judges M R Shah and C T Ravikumar said a decision is termed final only after it is formally drawn and signed by all Collegium members. Till then, it can only be considered a “tentative decision”, which can’t be put in the public domain.
“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,” the court explained.
The SC’s order came on a plea filed by RTI activist Anjali Bharadwaj seeking the agenda, minutes and resolution of the 2018 Collegium meeting.
According to the autobiography of former CJI Ranjan Gogoi, the 2018 meet had agreed to elevate the then Rajasthan High Court Chief Justice Pradeep Nandrajog and the then Delhi High Court Chief Justice Rajendra Menon to the SC. However, the decision was kept in abeyance after the news of their elevation was leaked.
The petitioner also cited an article written by a former Collegium member expressing disappointment over the SC’s failure to upload the decision taken at the December 2018 meeting. While dismissing the plea, the bench cited a subsequent resolution passed by the Collegium on January 10, 2019, indicating that no final decision on elevating the two judges was taken in the 2018 meeting.