Union Law and Justice Minister M. Veerappa Moily on Sunday hinted that the Centre was working out a proposal to amend the Right to Information (RTI) Act relating to the judiciary.
However, he made it clear to journalists here that the proposal was independent of the Delhi High Court verdict on January 12 this year. In its judgment against the Supreme Court, the High Court had held that the office of the Chief Justice of India came within the purview of the RTI Act, stating that judicial independence was not a judge’s privilege but a responsibility cast upon him.
“There is some proposal being contemplated. It is in comparison to other judiciaries in the world. But it has nothing to do with the Delhi High Court judgment. It is independent of it.” The subject would be dealt with by the Department of Personnel and Training. The general principle was that the judiciary should be transparent, Mr. Moily said. The Supreme Court had suggested amendments to the Act to provide insulation from disclosure of information pertaining to appointment of judges and decisions of the collegium.
On the proposed Judges Standards and Accountability Bill, the Minister said that while the power to impeach a member of the higher judiciary would rest with Parliament, the Bill would have details on issues of “commission and omission” by judges.