If Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan has announced that, being a constitutional office holder, he fell outside the ambit of the RTI law, the Supreme Court registry has claimed such immunity for other judges too by casting a veil of secrecy over all matters relating to their code of conduct, complaints against them and declaration of their assets. Responding to an RTI application, the SC's central public information officer (CPIO) Ashok Kumar said, "The matters covered under resolutions like `in-house procedure to probe against judges', `declaration of assets by judges', `restatement of values of judicial life', etc, are not handled by the registry and the information relating thereto is not held by or under the control of CPIO.'' Asked whether CJI was subject to RTI for his administrative (as opposed to judicial) functions, CPIO sidestepped the question saying it was beyond his jurisdiction "to interpret the law, opine, comment and advise on matters.'' Though the SC is cited as a public authority accountable under RTI, CPIO's reply to applicant S C Agrawal implies that no question can be asked about CJI or any of theother judges, thereby defeating the legislative intent of extending the transparency law to the judiciary as well.
Saturday, May 03, 2008
http://indiarti.blogspot.com
India Right To Information
About Me
- Kamal Kumar Pandey (Adv. Supreme Court of India)
- Lawyer Practising at Supreme Court of India. Court Experience: Criminal, Civil & PIL (related to Property, Tax, Custom & Duties, MVAC, insurance, I.P.R., Copyrights & Trademarks, Partnerships, Labour Disputes, etc.) Socio-Legal: Child Rights, Mid Day Meal Programme, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan, Women Rights, Against Female Foeticide, P.R.Is, Bonded Labour, Child labour, Child marriage, Domestic violence, Legal Literacy, HIV/AIDS, etc. Worked for Legal Aid/Advise/Awareness/Training/Empowerment/Interventions/Training & Sensitisation.
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