SC favours bringing Governor, CJI under ambit of RTI

The Bench said, what is there to hide? There is nothing for the CJI to hide.

The Supreme Court has favoured the inclusion of Governor and also the Chief Justice under the Right to Information Act. A bench comprising Justices Arun Mishra and Amitava Roy said that all offices of constitutional functionaries must be brought under the ambit of the RTI act.

While making these observations, the court made a specific mention that even the CJI's office must be brought under the act. The Bench observed that this move would ensure transparency and accountability in the functioning of the constitutional offices.

The Bench was hearing a batch of petitions challenging an order of the Bombay High Court which had declared the governor's office as public authority. The Bombay HC had also directed the Goa Raj Bhavan to make public the governor's report sent to the President on the political situation in the state during July-August 2007. The information was sought under RTI by Manohar Parrikar, who was then the leader of the opposition in the Goa assembly.

The Bench said, " what is there to hide? There is nothing for the CJI to hide. There is no secretive business of the CJI and the office must be brought within the purview of the RTI, the Bench also said.

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