Law Minister will look into CJI suggestions: Manmohan

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has assured Chief Justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan that his suggestions on amendments to the Right to Information Act will be looked into by the Law Minister.

Dr. Singh was responding to a letter written by Justice Balakrishnan, in which he had said: “Section 8 [providing for exempting certain information] needs to be suitably amended by inserting another specific clause to the effect that any information, the disclosure of which would prejudicially affect the independence of the judiciary, should be exempted from disclosure under the provisions of the Act.”

Dr. Singh said: “I have received your letter of September 16, 2009, regarding the RTI Act. I have asked the Minister of Law and Justice to look into the suggestions you have made.”

On a petition filed by RTI activist Subhash Chandra Agrawal, the Central Information Commission, and later the Delhi High Court, directed the office of the CJI to disclose certain information on declaration of assets by judges. The Supreme Court, however, stayed this order.

In the meantime, the CJI wrote to Dr. Singh, highlighting the need for amending the Act. He said that quite frequently, “information of a highly confidential and sensitive nature” in matters handled by the CJI was being sought to be disclosed under the RTI Act by applicant-citizens.

“But such information has to be refused, as disclosure in those cases would prejudicially affect the independence of the judiciary.”