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B 9 1 2 $ 02"3045, 0!6 +$ $ ,$ $$$ $$& '()* -1& '123/ BJP in power and lamented the -1& '123/ Supreme Court. pages. believe” has to be taken into BJP president was not dong Consequently, in terms of “Thus, when public inter- account while examining the he Supreme Court’s ruling needful for them. he office of the Chief Justice Section 28 of the RTI Act, the est demands disclosure of public interest in favour of Ton Wednesday disqualify- Hours after the court rul- Tof India (CJI) is a public CJI is empowered to frame information, judicial indepen- disclosure of information, it ing 17 Congress and JD(S) ing, Deputy Chief Minister authority under the Right to rules, which have to be noti- dence has to be kept in mind said. MLAs in Karnataka but allow- CN Ashwathnarayan said the Information (RTI) Act, the fied..., to carry out provisions while deciding the question of “Distinction must be ing them to contest the disqualified MLAs will join Supreme Court held on of the RTI Act.” exercise of discretion,” Justice drawn between the final opin- December 5 bypolls has come the BJP on Thursday in Wednesday but said “judicial The top court would nec- Khanna said. ion or resolutions passed by as a breather for State Chief Bengaluru. Yediyurappa wel- independence has to be kept in essarily include the office of It, however, said the verdict collegium with regard to Minister BS Yediyurappa. If comed the verdict and said it mind” while disclosing infor- CJI, it said, adding, “the office “should not be understood to appointment /elevation and elected back to the Assembly, was against the “conspiracy” of mation in “public interest”. of CJI or for that matter the mean that the independence of transfer of judges with obser- these MLAs would bolster his Ramesh Kumar and Congress In a path-breaking ver- judges is not separate from the the judiciary can be achieved vations and indicative reasons Government sitting on a razor leader. Expressing confidence dict, a 5-judge Constitution SC, and is part and parcel of the only by denial of access to and the inputs/data or details thin majority. that the BJP will win all the 15 Bench headed by Chief Justice SC as a body, authority and information”. which the collegium had exam- The SC ruling may help seats, he said the party would Ranjan Gogoi dismissed the institution”. The verdict, which has ined,” the bench said while consolidate Yediyurappa’s shaky decide on giving tickets to the appeal filed by the Central The bench said it was nec- been concurred by Justices NV stressing on balancing between hold over the Government with “rebel” MLAs ferried out to which citizens are being disqualified MLAs. Public Information Officer and essary that question of “judicial Ramana and DY Chandrachud the right to information, judi- with 105 plus one Independent of the State and kept in star denied Stable Governments. The Congress, for its part, the Secretary General of the independence is accounted for in separate verdicts, said that in cial independence and confi- MLAs vis-à-vis the Opposition. hotels subsequently led to the “In these circumstances, called for the dismissal of the apex court against the Delhi in the balancing exercise” with some cases judicial indepen- dentiality of personal infor- The MLAs are to join the BJP fall of the JD(S)-Congress the Parliament is required to Yediyurappa Government, say- High Court’s 2010 judgment. RTI. It cannot be doubted and dence may “demand openness mation. The rigour of public on Thursday and are likely to coalition Government headed reconsider strengthening cer- ing the court’s decision uphold- Writing the judgment on debated that independence of and transparency by furnishing interest in divulging inputs, be fielded on the 15 Assembly by JD(S) leader HD tain aspects of the Tenth ing the decision disqualifying behalf of the CJI, Justice the judiciary is a matter of the information” and in some data and particulars of a can- seats from which they had Kumarawamy on July 23 dur- Schedule, so that such unde- 17 Congress and JD(S) MLAs Deepak Gupta and himself, “ennobled public concern” and cases disclosure may not be didate (probable judge) would won and where the bypolls are ing a trust vote. mocratic practices are dis- but allowing them to contest Justice Sanjiv Khanna referred directly relates to public welfare needed. be different from that of to be held on December 5. Though upholding the couraged,” the Bench said. the bypolls had exposed the to several decisions and view- and would be one of the factors Reference to the principle divulging and furnishing If the rebels do get BJP Speaker’s decision to disquali- The court said the Speaker BJP’s ‘Operation Kamal’ in the points to highlight the con- to be taken into account in of judicial independence is not details of the output that is the tickets and manage to win, it fy the MLAs, the Supreme was not empowered to dis- State. tentious nature of the issue of weighing and applying the to undermine and avoid decision, it said. would give a numerical boost Court opened a window for qualify any member till the end Reacting to the SC verdict, “transparency, accountability public interest test, said the accountability which is an “The public interest test to Yediyurappa in the them to enter the Assembly by of the term of the Assembly. former Speaker Kumar said, and judicial independence”, judgment, running into 108 aspect “we perceive and would have to be applied keep- Assembly. The BJP needs to permitting them to contest the Then Karnataka Speaker KR “The Supreme Court has and said it was necessary that ing in mind the fiduciary rela- win at least seven seats to bypolls for 15 seats. The elec- Ramesh Kumar had said the upheld the disqualification -- to “the question of judicial inde- tionship,(if it arises), and also ensure it achieves the majori- tions to the remaining two MLAs cannot contest elections that extent, it’s a sigh of relief pendence is accounted for in ,$* $ the invasion of the right to pri- ty (112 seats) on its own. seats are withheld due to peti- until the term of the current (for me). On the issue of tenure the balancing exercise”. vacy and breach of the duty of Candidates are required to file tions related to them pending Assembly, ending 2023. (of disqualification), the Referring to Constitutional -1& '123/ confidentiality owed to the their nomination papers in the High Court. The SC can- The disqualified ‘rebel’ Supreme Court has not agreed scheme on setting up of the candidate or the information between November 11 and celled the Speaker’s decision to MLAs had indirectly facilitat- to my interpretation I will apex court, the verdict said, “It he Supreme Court is scheduled to pronounce on Thursday provider, resulting from the November 18. bar them from contesting polls. ed BJP launch itself in the seat speak on that after going is undebatable that the Tits verdict on petitions seeking a review of its judgment furnishing of such details and A total of 17 “rebel” MLAs In a strong indictment of of power by reducing the effec- through the text of the judg- Supreme Court of India is a giving a clean chit to the Modi Government in the Rafale fight- particulars,” it said on the col- — 14 belonging to the the Speaker and political par- tive strength of Karnataka ment.” ‘public authority’, as defined er jet deal with French firm Dassault Aviation. legium deliberations. Congress and three to the ties, the 3-member SC Bench Assembly to 208 from 224 and The change of Government vide clause (h) to Section 2 of Also, it is to give its verdict on a batch of petitions seek- Judicial independence and JD(S) — who resigned from the said there is a growing trend of winning the floor test on July in Karnataka had prompted the RTI Act as it has been ing re-examination of its decision to allow entry of women accountability “go hand in Karnataka Assembly and were Speakers acting against the 29. In a recent video gone accusations that it was brought established and constituted by of all age group in Kerala’s Sabarimala Temple. Political par- hand as accountability ensures, “won over” by the BJP were “constitutional duty of being viral, the Karnataka CM was about by purchasing MLAs or under the Constitution. ties, right-wing outfits and devotees in Kerala are keeping their and is a facet of judicial inde- disqualified in July this year by neutral” in addition to political purportedly heard saying that with “money bags” doing “The CJI is the competent fingers crossed. pendence. the Assembly Speaker. The parties indulging in horse trad- the Congress and JD(S) MLAs rounds. authority in the case of the Continued on Page 5 long-drawn political drama ing and corrupt practices due had “sacrificed” a lot to bring Continued on Page 5 R -1& '123/ ordering closure of Delhi-NCR luting compared to two and NCT of Delhi... file data in this schools till November 15. three-wheelers and taxis. regard in the court on the s air pollution in Delhi However, the SC issued a The SC directed the basis of the previous experience -1& '123/ Aplunged to near the emer- notice to the Delhi Government and the Central and whether three-wheelers , +4+5/ Government.