CIS: All Information Possessed by the Office of CJI not Completely Exempt from Disclosure

The Central Information Commission(CIS) held in the first week of January 2012 that all information in possession of the office of the Chief Justice of India is not completely exempt from disclosure under the Right to Information (RTI) act. The CIC observed this while directing the Supreme Court to disclose communication exchange between Chief Justice of India and the Law Ministry on the question of proposed changes in appointment procedure for Judges.

Chief Information Commissioner Satyananda Mishra ruled that, the procedure of appointment of judges or any proposal for modifying that procedure should necessarily be available in the public domain so that citizens know what is transpiring among the major stake holders. The order came on an appeal by RTI activist Subhash Agrawal on this issue.

What is RTI Act
The RTI act (The Right to Information Act, 2005) of Parliament received the assent of the President on the 15 June 2005. It is an act to provide for setting out the practical regime of right to information for citizens to secure access to information under the control of public authorities, in order to promote transparency and accountability in the working of every public authority, the constitution of a Central Information Commission and State Information Commissions and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.