The department of justice submitted that though the copy of forwarding letters are available in its record, to club those copies for the last three years would be a time consuming task
In a landmark order, the Central Information Commission (CIC) has directed the law ministry to disclose the forwarding letters it has received, attached with the complaints filed against the retired and sitting judges of the Supreme Court and high courts.
The CIC’s order came while it was hearing a Right to Information (RTI) plea filed by Delhi-based activist Subhash Chandra Agrawal. In his application, dated 18th May 2011, Mr Agrawal had sought complete information on the complaints received against retired and sitting chief justices/judges of higher courts, including those of the Supreme Court and high courts, in last three years by the department of justice, under the law ministry.
Information Commissioner Sushma Singh, while hearing the plea held that, “The request is reasonable.”
The department of justice submitted that though the copy of forwarding letters are available in its record, to club those copies for the last three years would be a time consuming task since the information would be in different files. However, the commission observed that Mr Agrawal is no longer seeking copies of complaints; he only wants copies of forwarding letters sent by the department.
The ministry agreed to provide the information on such forwarding letters. However, it expressed that it is “a time consuming task and it would disproportionately divert the resources of the public authority.”
Mr Agrawal, considering the ministry’s view, requested that he should at least be provided with copies of forwarding letters from the past one year.
CIC directed immediate disclosure of such letters dating back to last one year and asked the officials to trace records for three years and provide it to the applicant. It also directed the ministry to, “properly maintain their records in such a manner as can easily be retrieved whenever information is sought under the RTI Act.”
According to PTI, the ministry had earlier claimed that it cannot provide copies of complaints because these complaints are forwarded to Chief Justice of India and chief justices of high courts in the respective cases. It had also said that the ministry officials do not keep a record of these complaints.
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