Supreme Court Refuses To Provide Information Under RTI On Elevation Of Top Court Lawyers As High Court Judges
The Supreme Court recently declined to part with information under the RTI Act in connection with a letter issued by the Supreme Court Bar Association proposing names of top court advocates for appointment of High Court judges.
The apex court said the “information sought is exempted under provisions of Section 8 (1) (e) and Section 11 (1) of the Right to Information Act, being third party information”.
“There is nothing available on record based on which the information sought for can be provided. Hence, no information”, Ajay Agarwal, Additional Registrar and CPIO, Supreme Court said.
A lawyer, Amritpal Singh Khalsa had filed an application under the RTI Act seeking a copy of the proposal sent by the SCBA along with the order, letter, communication or any other document in which it is noted that the Chief Justice of India has agreed to the proposal of SCBA to the CPIO.
He had also sought a copy of the terms and conditions of agreement to SCBA proposal and the copy of the entire file with file notings in this regard.
The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) in its letter dated June 8, 2021 had released a press note as per which the Hon’ble Chief Justice had agreed to the recommendation of considering lawyers practising in the Supreme Court, for elevation to their High Courts.
Pursuant to this, the SCBA had also constitutie a Search Committee comprising of Vice President and Senior Members of the Bar, namely, Mrs. Mahalakshmi Pavani, Mr. Rakesh Dwivedi, Mr. Shekhar Naphade, Mr. Vijay Hansaria and Mr. V Giri to facilitate the process of elevation by identifying deserving and meritorious Supreme Court practitioners.
On June 14, 2021 All India Lawyers Union (AILU) had also written to the Hon’ble Chief Justice expressing reservations on the decision of elevating Supreme Court lawyers as Judges of the High Courts, stating that this would cause “negative consequences impacting independence of judiciary and its transparency”