The issue of information relating to the appointment and transfer of judges being made public is one again in the news. A plea filed by a RTI applicant seeking information under the transparency law regarding the appointment of judges has been opposed by the apex court.

The Economic Times reports that Attorney General, G.E. Vahanvati told a Supreme Court Bench comprising of Justice B. Sudershan Reddy and Justice S.S. Nijjar that all information held by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) cannot be made public. He challenged the orders of the Delhi High Court and the Central Information Commission (CIC) asking the apex court to reveal information held by the CJI under the transparency law. The Supreme Court counsel said that these are very important issues and should be decided by a Constitution Bench. "Principles of independence of judiciary have to be kept in mind while deciding these issues," he said. There are various judgments of the Supreme Court which have said that the conduct of the judges, including appointment issues, cannot be discussed in public. 

Taking the opposing view, Senior Counsel Prashant Bhushan who was appearing on behalf of the RTI applicant said that several eminent jurists and former judges, including Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer, have criticized the way in which judicial appointments are made and said that it was high time that the process of appointment of judges be brought under public scrutiny. The Bench after hearing the arguments reserved its order on whether the case should be referred to a larger Bench. 

This isn’t the first time that an issue related to the CJI has made news. Earlier also, former CJI, K.G. Balakirshnan, who retired in May of this year, had rejected the view of the Delhi HC that the office of the CJI falls within the preview of the RTI Act. That matter is still pending before a full Bench in the apex court.

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