RTI Act doesn’t cover my office: CJI

Chief Justice of India KG Balakrishnan today asserted that his office was out of the purview of the country's transparency law, the Right to Information Act. Meanwhile, he added that the details of the Supreme Court judges' assets would be available on the official website in a month or more. Satya Prakash reports.

Two days after the Supreme Court judges decided to declare their assets, Chief Justice of India KG Balakrishnan on Friday asserted that the Right to Information (RTI) Act did not cover his office.

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Balakrishnan said the Supreme Court would not withdraw its petition in Delhi High Court against the Central Information Commission’s (CIC) direction to the Supreme court Registry — that runs the apex court’s administration — to disclose whether the judges had been declaring their assets.

He said the CIC’s impression that all the information the CJI’s office received would be shared with the Registry was incorrect.
“I have got various confidential information. It cannot be shared with the Registry. The Registry does not know anything about my communications with the President and the Prime Minister,” the CJI said.

On why there was not a single woman judge in the apex court, Balakrishnan said, “Even the House of Lords took 100 years to find a woman judge.”

Asked if the court would entertain any queries about the judges’ assets, the CJI said, “We have not decided anything on the issue.”