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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | In letter to PM, CJI sought RTI exemption for judiciary by Krishnadas Rajagopal

In letter to PM, CJI sought RTI exemption for judiciary by Krishnadas Rajagopal

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published Published on Apr 13, 2010   modified Modified on Apr 13, 2010


Contents of a four-page letter from Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh shows the country’s top judge recommending the inclusion of a specific clause in the Right to Information Act, 2005 to exempt judiciary from the transparency law’s ambit.

The CJI in his letter dated September 16, 2009 pointed out how the “framers of the RTI Act” failed to visualise the extent to which the RTI would intrude into the independence of the judiciary. So he recommended the inclusion of a specific clause in Section 8, which deals with the variety of information not meant for public eye.

Some of the different kinds of information already exempted from RTI have to do with those affecting the sovereignty of India or foreign relations, those whose disclosure would be a breach of privilege in Parliament or state legislature and progress on a police investigation.

“Quite frequently, information of highly confidential and sensitive nature of matters handled by the Chief Justice of India is being sought to be disclosed under the provisions of the RTI Act by applicant-citizens, but such information has to be refused,” the CJI wrote.

The list of “sensitive” matters the judiciary is unwilling to give includes complaints making serious allegations about sitting judges of higher courts and consequent records of In-House inquiry proceedings, appointment of judges of high courts, written opinions/views on prospective judicial candidates and judgments/orders prepared and circulated to other members of the bench before they are officially declared.

The correspondence was revealed to noted RTI activist SC Agrawal by the Prime Minister’s Office.

The CJI also expressed his apprehension that after the Delhi High Court verdict declaring him a “public authority” under the RTI, “several confidential and sensitive matters exclusively in the custody of the Chief Justice of India” may have to be disclosed to citizens.

He pointed out to the judges’ move to embrace transparency by declaring their assets online as a sign of how “every possible endeavour is thus being made to enhance the credibility of the courts of India”.

“In this scenario, I earnestly and sincerely feel that Section 8 of the RTI Act needs to be suitably amended by inserting another specific clause to the effect that any information, disclosure of which would prejudicially affect the independence of the judiciary, should be exempted from disclosure under the provisions of the RTI Act,” the CJI wrote in his letter.

A reply dated October 13, 2009 by the PM informed the CJI, whom he addressed as “Justice Balakrishnan ji”, that “I have asked the Minister of Law and Justice to look into the suggestions you have made in your letter.”


The Indian Express, 13 April, 2010, http://www.indianexpress.com/news/in-letter-to-pm-cji-sought-rti-exemption-for-judiciary/605521/


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