New Delhi (NVI): In a landmark unanimous judgement here today, the Supreme Court has held that office of the Chief Justice of India is a public authority that comes under the purview of the country’s transparency law, the Right to Information Act.
“Transparency doesn’t undermine judicial independence,” the Supreme Court said in a unanimous verdict today as it upheld the Delhi High Court judgment which ruled that office of the Chief Justice comes under the purview of RTI.
The five-judge constitution bench, headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi who retires on November 17, also dismissed the three appeals filed by secretary general of the SC and the Central Public Information officer of the apex court. Other members of the bench included Justices NV Ramana, DY Chandrachud, Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna.
The Supreme Court, however, said that confidentiality and right to privacy have to be maintained and added that RTI can’t be used for as a tool of surveillance. It also said only names of judges recommended by the collegium can be disclosed, not the reasons.
