The Supreme Court (SC) has moved itself seeking relief from an RTI query on Madras high court judge Regupathy’s claim that a Union minister tried to influence his decision on a bail plea.
The chief public information officer of SC moved the court after the central information commission (CIC) directed the chief justice of India (CJI) last week to reveal whatever he knows about Regupathy’s allegation.
CIC said, “The information sought in respect of all questions... will be provided to appellant [RTI enthusiast Subhash Chandra Agrawal, who had earlier successfully invoked the Act to ensure judges disclose their assets] within 15 days”.
SC says CJI holds information in fiduciary capacity and cannot disclose it to the public. It maintains that the office of CJI is immune to RTI.
However, in a landmark judgment in September, Delhi high court judge S Ravindra Bhat, who was examining the role of CJI and the apex court, had held, “There cannot be two opinions about the reality that CJI performs a multitude of tasks, specifically assigned to him under the Constitution and various enactments. He is involved in the process of appointment of judges of high courts, chief justices of high courts, judges of the Supreme Court, and so on.
“What this court [HC] cannot ignore, regardless of the varied roles of CJI, is that they are directly relatable to his holding the office of CJI and heading the Supreme Court.” Section 24 of the RTI Act exempts organisations such as IB, RAW, the directorate of revenue intelligence, central economic intelligence bureau, directorate of enforcement, narcotics control bureau, aviation research centre, paramilitary forces and named police establishments, but “there is no clue in these provisions that the office of the Chief Justice of India, is exempt”.
