The Supreme Court today held that the office of Chief Justice of India is a public authority under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
A five-judge Constitution Bench headed by the Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi pronounced its verdict after listening to a petition filed against a 2010 Judgement of the Delhi High Court.
The High Court in its order had declared the CJI's office a public authority and said that it should come under the RTI Act.
The bench, also comprising Justices N V Ramana, D Y Chandrachud, Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna, said that only the names of judges recommended by the Collegium for the appointment can be disclosed, not the reasons.
It said that the Right to Privacy is an important aspect and it has to be balanced with transparency while deciding to give out information from the office of the Chief Justice. (AIR NEWS)