'Cannot share details in public': Supreme Court dismiss details of Judges' appointment meet

According to reports, the petition had sought details of a Collegium meeting dated December 12, 2018, on the appointment of two judges, which were never made public. The petitioner, activist Anjali Bhardwaj, had sought the details under the Right To Information Act but it was denied, and she had challenged the decision.

The Supreme Court on Friday (December 9) dismissed a request for details of a meeting of its top panel on the appointment of judges, declaring that these discussions cannot be revealed to the public.

"Whatever is discussed (in collegium meetings) shall not be in the public domain. Only the final decision needs to be uploaded," the Supreme Court said.

According to reports, the petition had sought details of a Collegium meeting dated December 12, 2018, on the appointment of two judges, which were never made public. The petitioner, activist Anjali Bhardwaj, had sought the details under the Right To Information Act but it was denied, and she had challenged the decision.

The judges noted that the petitioner had "relied on articles" based on interviews by one of the judges present in that meeting.

"We do not want to comment on the same. The subsequent resolution was very clear. There is no substance in the (petition), it deserves to be dismissed," said the Supreme Court.

In the meeting that is now in question, then CJI Ranjan Gogoi and four senior-most judges - Justices Madan B Lokur, AK Sikri, SA Bobde and NV Ramana - took some decisions on appointment of judges. The details of the meeting were not uploaded on the Supreme Court website. The decisions were later overturned.

In January 2019, Justice Lokur had expressed disappointment that the resolution in that meeting was not uploaded.