Will CJI Come Under The Ambit Of RTI?

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court will pronounce its verdict on Wednesday whether or not the office of Chief Justice of India will come under the ambit of the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

A CJI Ranjan Gogoi-led constitution bench comprising of Justices NV Ramana, DY Chandrachud, Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna will deliver the verdict.

The notice regarding the pronouncement of judgement was made public on the official website of the Supreme Court on Tuesday afternoon.

The petition regarding the matter was filed by a Supreme Court Secretary-General challenging the January 2010 judgment of the Delhi High Court, which declared the CJI's office is a "public authority" and must come under the domain of the RTI Act.

However, the order was reserved on April 4.

CJI Ranjan Gogoi had earlier observed that in the name of transparency, one cannot destroy the institution.

The case dates back to 2007 when RTI activist Subhash Chandra Aggarwal had filed an RTI in the apex court wanting information about the judges' assets. His request was turned down. Aggarwal has then approached Central Information Commission (CIC) which asked the Supreme court to disclose the information. Later, a plea was moved in the Delhi High Court in January 2009 against the order but was later upheld.

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