CJI Office Comes Under RTI But Conditions Apply: SC

NEW DELHI: In a landmark judgement, the Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the 2010 Delhi High Court verdict and observed that the office of the Chief Justice of India comes under the purview of the Right to Information (RTI) act.

The Delhi HC had earlier held that the CJI is a public authority and comes under the RTI act.

A five-judge constitution bench led by CJI Ranjan Gogoi dismissed the three appeals filed by Secretary General of the Supreme Court and the Central Public Information officer of the apex court.

Cautioning that RTI cannot be used as tool of surveillance, the top court held that judicial independence has to be kept in mind while dealing with transparency. It said that only names of judges recommended by the Collegium can be disclosed, not the reasons.

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