New Delhi, Jan 12 (Inditop.com) With the Delhi High Court Tuesday endorsing its Sep 2 verdict declaring the office of the Chief Justice of India within the ambit of the Right to Information Act, top Supreme Court officials indicated that ruling may eventually be examined by the apex court itself.
“We are yet to study the judgment. It will take a few days before we can say what to do with it – whether to go in appeal before the apex court or not,” Supreme Court Secretary General M.P. Bhadran told Inditop.
Though Bhadran refused to categorically say if the apex court registry would move the Supreme Court to challenge the high court’s ruling before it, other senior apex court officials said: “The Supreme Court may have to sit in judgment over the high court ruling, declaring the CJI office within the ambit of the RTI Act.”
Recalling Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan’s well-known view on the issue whether the CJI’s office falls within the purview of the RTI act, the apex court officials said the issue whether the CJI’s office is within the ambit of the transparency law needs to be settled with a finality.
“In the name of transparency, the office of the chief justice could not be stripped naked,” an official said.
“The CJI is a public authority under the RTI Act. The CJI holds the information pertaining to asset declarations in his capacity as Chief Justice; that office is a public authority under the Act and is covered by its provisions,” said the Delhi high court Tuesday, endorsing its single judge bench ruling on the issue last September.
The single judge bench of the high court had given the ruling on an appeal by the apex court’s registry against the Central Information Commission ruling on the issue of disclosure of judges’ assets.
The high court gave this ruling while answering the question: “Whether the CJI is a public authority and whether the RTI Act covers the office of the CJI.”
In a formal interaction with the reporters last year, Chief Justice Balakrishnan had asserted that his office is out of the purview of the RTI Act.
“The office of the chief justice is privy to so much of information like privileged communication between various constitutional authorities, complaints against judges etc. How can all this information be disclosed (under RTI Act),” Chief Justice Balakrishnan had wondered.
The apex court is currently examining also another ruling by the Central Information Commission, which asked the CJI office to divulge details of appointments in higher judiciary. The CIC has given the direction holding that the CJI’s office is under the ambit of the RTI act.
The apex court may now examine both the high court ruling and the CIC ruling together, said officials.
