BANGALORE: The Karnataka High Court on Friday termed "incorrect and misleading" reports in a section of the media (not The Hindu ) about Tuesday's meeting in the Vidhana Soudha between Chief Justice Cyriac Joseph and Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy.

In a press release by Registrar General in charge Veeranna G. Tigadi, the court said it was issuing the clarification to remove any misunderstanding caused by the reports.

It said it had been decided at the conference of Chief Justices and Chief Ministers, held on March 11, to set up a facility in each State to monitor the implementation of resolutions passed at such conferences. After the meeting, the Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court requested the Chief Minister to set up a high-level monitoring committee and to discuss immediately issues related to the judiciary and the functioning of the courts.

On April 24, the State Government constituted a high-level committee comprising representatives of the judiciary and the Government. The Chief Minister, the Deputy Chief Minister and the Law Minister were on the panel as were the Chief Justice and two senior judges of the High Court. The other members of the panel were the Advocate-General, the Chief Secretary, the Finance Secretary, the Law Secretary and the Registrar-General of the High Court.

The first meeting of the committee was held on Tuesday at Committee Room No. 313 in the Vidhana Soudha. All matters related to the judiciary and other issues were on the agenda. At the three-hour meeting, all 77 items on the agenda were considered and appropriate decisions taken.

`Not based on facts'

The release said reports in a section of the media that the Chief Justice took a delegation of judges to meet the Chief Minister and called on him in his chamber were factually incorrect.

It said the Chief Justice and judges went to the Vidhana Soudha along with the Registrar-General of the High Court to attend the meeting and not call on the Chief Minister.

On their arrival, the Chief Justice and the judges were received by the Law Minister and the Advocate-General and escorted to the chamber of the Chief Minister, who was waiting for them. Thereafter, all of them went to the committee room for the meeting.

The release termed "false" reports that the Chief Justice was compelled to wait for over 30 minutes at the Secretariat and that the Law Minister apologised for the delay.

It said there was no impropriety on the part of the Chief Justice and the judges in going to the Vidhana Soudha to attend such a meeting. The venue of the meeting was fixed after a consultation between the Chief Justice and the Chief Minister. The Chief Justice and senior judges attending the meeting did not, and could not, lower the prestige of the judiciary, the release said.

It said the Chief Justice did not share the perception that under no circumstances should he step into the Vidhana Soudha or talk to the Chief Minister. The release said he believed in maintaining cordial relations between the judiciary, the legislature and the executive, based on mutual respect and cooperation, without compromising on the independence and impartiality of the judiciary.

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