India News

In A Historic Move, Supreme Court Decides to Make Collegium Decisions Transparent

Published

8 years ago

October 6, 2017

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]There has been much talk about the opacity of the Supreme Court Collegium and the recent transfer and resignation of Justice Jayant Patel of the Karnataka High Court – transferred to the Allahabad High Court as the third senior-most, killing his Supreme Court prospects – has added fuel to the controversy fire.

The Supreme Court has decided that all the recommendations of the Supreme Court Collegium will henceforth be posted on the court’s website. The information that will be posted on the court’s website will include information about appointment, promotion and transfer of judges.

This decision by the Collegium, headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra marks a prominent milestone for his term. The Supreme Court Collegium said that the new rules will increase transparency without affecting the confidentially of the judicial process. The reasons for certain decision will also be uploaded on the court’s website.

The court has already started uploading information on its website and one of the first things to be posted is information about the appointment of three Judicial Officers and one Judicial Member of Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) as Judge of the Madras High Court:

Resolution Dated 03.10.2017 regarding transparency in Collegium System.
Recommendation Dated 03.10.2017 regarding elevation of Judicial Officers in Kerala High Court.
Recommendation Dated 03.10.2017 for elevation of Judicial Officers in Madras High Court (Part I).
Recommendation Dated 03.10.2017 for elevation of Judicial Officers in Madras High Court (Part II).

The more important addition to this is that the new section – a new tab to the top left of the Supreme Court site, called “Collegium Resolutions” – will also provide the reason for such transfer, elevation etc. of judges, judicial officers and others. To begin with the initial postings have detailed reasons for the October 3 judicial appointments to the Madras and the Kerala high courts.

The Collegium has also detailed reasons for the transparency. The two-page entry reads as follows:

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

Re: Transparency in Collegium system.

The Chief Justice of India proposed the following Agenda for consideration by the Collegium:

“DECISION ON UPLOADING OF COLLEGIUM’S RESOLUTIONS WITH REASONS, ON EACH CANDIDATE FOR ELEVATION AS JUDGE OF HIGH COURT, CHIEF JUSTICE OF HIGH COURT OR AS JUDGE OF SUPREME COURT OR TRANSFER ON THE SUPREME COURT’S OFFICIAL WEBSITE FOR ENSURING TRANSPARENCY OF COLLEGIUM SYSTEM”.

The Collegium has resolved:

THAT the decisions henceforth taken by the Collegium indicating the reasons shall be put on the website of the Supreme Court, when the recommendation(s) is/are sent to the Government of India, with regard to the cases relating to initial elevation to the High Court Bench, confirmation as permanent Judge(s) of the High Court, elevation to the post of Chief Justice of High Court, transfer of High Court Chief Justices / Judges and elevation to the Supreme Court, because on each occasion the material which is considered by the Collegium is different.

The Resolution is passed to ensure transparency and yet maintain confidentiality in the Collegium system.

(Signed)

( Dipak Misra ), CJI.

( J.Chelameswar ), J.

( Ranjan Gogoi ), J.

( Madan B. Lokur ), J.

( Kurian Joseph ), J.

New Delhi,

October 03, 2017

The issue of the transfers became a trifle ugly with the Justice Patel issue. While the judge himself has kept his opinion to himself, there have been many within the judicial profession who have lambasted the judiciary for virtually sidelining the judge who had shown tremendous spine in ordering a CBI enquiry into the Ishrat Jahan fake encounter case during the Godhra riots of 2002. It has been alleged that the executive may have had finally gotten total control of the judiciary and is now calling the shots about judicial postings and transfers.

The reaction to this transfer (of Justice Patel) from the Supreme Court so far has been a trite comment, saying:

“Decision taken to transfer Justice Jayant Patel was a conscious and unanimous decision taken after adequate deliberation keeping in view the input on record.”

Recently even Justice J Chelameswar, who is part of the Collegium – he is also the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court – had criticized the secret nature of the functioning of the Collegium. He had even refused to participate in the Collegium meetings until there was some record made of what transpired.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

India News

Delhi-NCR sees second spell of rain and thunderstorms in four days

Delhi-NCR experienced another spell of rain and thunderstorms on March 18, with IMD forecasting more showers over the next few days.

Published

7 hours ago

March 18, 2026

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Delhi and parts of the National Capital Region witnessed another spell of rain, thunderstorms, and strong winds on Wednesday evening, marking the second such weather event in the past four days.

The sudden change brought relief from unusually high temperatures recorded earlier this month. According to officials, the temperature at Safdarjung — the city’s base weather station — was recorded at 24 degrees Celsius at 7 pm.

The India Meteorological Department had earlier issued an alert predicting light to moderate rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms and lightning on March 18. Several areas across the capital experienced gusty winds along with brief but intense showers.

More rain likely over next two days

The weather department has forecast partly cloudy skies for March 19 and 20, with chances of light rain or thundershowers occurring once or twice during the day. On March 21, skies are expected to remain cloudy with the possibility of light showers continuing.

Conditions are likely to stabilise from March 23 onwards, with forecasts indicating a return to partly cloudy to clear skies across the region.

Weather activity across India to intensify

The IMD has also indicated widespread weather activity across multiple regions of the country in the coming days. Rainfall is expected to intensify in several states, accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds.

In the northeastern region, heavy rainfall is likely over Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, and Meghalaya during the early part of the week.

Meanwhile, the western Himalayan region is also set to witness a shift in weather patterns. Himachal Pradesh is likely to receive heavy rainfall on March 19 and 20, while Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir may experience heavy showers around March 20.

India News

Centre pushes states to cut levies to boost PNG adoption

The Centre has asked states to reduce local levies and streamline approvals to accelerate PNG adoption and city gas infrastructure growth.

Published

9 hours ago

March 18, 2026

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The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has urged states and Union Territories to ease local levies and procedural barriers affecting City Gas Distribution (CGD) projects, in a bid to accelerate the adoption of piped natural gas (PNG) as a cleaner fuel alternative.

In a communication sent to Chief Secretaries, Petroleum and Natural Gas Secretary Neeraj Mittal highlighted that high right-of-way charges, road cutting fees, lease rentals and other local levies imposed by urban bodies are discouraging investments in CGD infrastructure.

High costs slowing expansion

The ministry pointed out that the CGD sector, particularly PNG supply to households and commercial establishments, does not receive direct subsidies. As a result, it depends heavily on viable returns, which are being impacted by excessive and inconsistent local charges across states.

It noted that these financial and procedural hurdles are slowing down infrastructure expansion and affecting the broader adoption of natural gas.

Gap between connections and usage

According to the government, while around 12.63 crore PNG connections have been recorded, only about 1.6 crore are currently active. The ministry stressed that improving ease of doing business at state and local levels could help bridge this gap and expand the consumer base.

Officials believe that rationalising levies may initially reduce local revenues but could lead to higher long-term gains through increased gas consumption and economic activity.

LPG shortage adds urgency

The push for PNG adoption comes amid supply constraints in liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), linked to ongoing tensions in the Middle East. Oil marketing companies are currently supplying only 20 per cent of normal commercial LPG demand to states.

To address this, the ministry has proposed increasing LPG allocation to 30 per cent for states that implement reforms supporting PNG and CGD expansion.

Reform-linked incentives for states

The Centre has suggested a set of measures that states can adopt to qualify for higher LPG allocations. These include:

Setting up empowered state and district-level committees for faster approvals
Introducing single-window clearance with deemed approvals within 24 hours
Implementing a dig-and-restore model using bank guarantees instead of restoration charges
Eliminating annual rental or lease charges for CGD infrastructure

The ministry said compliance with these reforms would be verified before granting additional LPG allocations.

Industry support measures

The communication also noted that GAIL and its subsidiaries have already allocated full gas supply to the commercial PNG segment to support businesses affected by reduced LPG availability.

The government reiterated that expanding natural gas usage aligns with its broader push for cleaner and domestically sourced energy.

India News

BJP seals Assam seat-sharing pact, Modi to hold 3 rallies in April

BJP has finalised its Assam seat-sharing plan with allies and is gearing up for an intense campaign led by PM Modi and Amit Shah.

Published

9 hours ago

March 18, 2026

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The Bharatiya Janata Party has finalised its seat-sharing arrangement for the upcoming Assam Assembly elections, firming up its strategy alongside National Democratic Alliance partners as campaigning gathers pace in the state.

Under the agreement, the BJP will contest 89 seats, while its allies — Asom Gana Parishad and Bodoland People’s Front — will field candidates in 26 and 11 constituencies respectively. The distribution has been decided after internal deliberations, with the focus now shifting to candidate announcements and campaign execution.

Campaign push led by top leadership

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to address three rallies in Assam during the final leg of the campaign. Tentative dates for the rallies are April 1, April 3 and April 6, with events likely to be held in key constituencies.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah is also set to spearhead an extensive campaign across the state through March, aiming to energise party workers and strengthen voter outreach.

Candidate selection underway

The party’s Central Election Committee is currently meeting to finalise candidates. Sources indicate that approvals for most constituencies are expected soon, and the BJP may release its complete list of candidates within the next two days.

Ticket distribution remains a crucial exercise, with internal discussions highlighting its potential impact on local political dynamics. Party leaders have also touched upon the proposed delimitation exercise scheduled for 2027, which is expected to have long-term implications for Assam’s electoral landscape.