The Delhi High Court on Wednesday said that the Chief Justice of India was a public authority and came under the Right to Information Act (RTI). The court has directed the Supreme Court registry to release information sought under RTI.
The high court has observed that the information in possession of the CJI is within the purview of the RTI Act and all such information should be disclosed. However, it also said that personal information about judges need not be disclosed.
It also said that the SC registry should disclose, within four weeks, whether SC judges are disclosing assets to the CJI and not the details of the assets.
The judgement comes on the apex court's plea challenging the Central Information Commissioner's order which held that CJI's office comes within the ambit of Right to Information Act and should reveal information on judges' assets.
The verdict assumes significance as the apex court has consistently maintained that CJI'S office does not come within the purview of RTI Act but under pressure from outside and within the judiciary, its judges have agreed to make public their assets.
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