Supreme Court declines to disclose information under RTI Act regarding SCBA suggestion to CJI for elevation of SC lawyers as High Court judges

The Supreme Court on Friday declined to disclose details regarding the suggestion made by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) to elevate Supreme Court lawyers as High Court judges. .In a communication circulated in June, the SCBA had stated that Chief Justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana "has agreed" to a May 31 request made by SCBA to consider elevating Supreme Court lawyers as High Court judges. .At the time, the office of the CJI did not confirm the same and confined to stating that a proposal has been received from the SCBA on the issue..Shortly thereafter, an RTI request was made by advocate Amritpal Singh Khalsa seeking a copy of the May 31, 2021 proposal made by the SCBA. The top court has now denied the RTI request citing certain provisions of the Right to Information Act, 2005 (RTI Act). .In a reply received this morning, the Additional Registrar and Chief Public Information Officer of the Supreme Court (CPIO) declined to disclose the information sought, citing Sections 8(1)(E) and 11(1) of the RTI Act..Section 8(1)(e) of the RTI Act 2005 exempts information available to a person in his fiduciary relationship from disclosure unless the competent authority is satisfied that the larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information..Section 11 comes into the picture when information is sourced from a third party. .Apart from the SCBA's letter to the CJI, some of the other documents sought by Khalsa in his RTI request were:Order, letter, or communication stating that CJI has agreed to the proposal;Terms and conditions of the SCBA proposal;File notings;Request letter issued by CJI to Chief Justices of High Courts;Name, designation and contact details of first appellate authority..However, the CPIO has stated that "there was nothing available on record based on which information sought for can be provided.".In its June 8 communication, SCBA President and Senior Advocate Vikas Singh had informed SCBA members that on May 31, Singh and the SCBA Executive Committee had proposed the same to CJI Ramana.."The undersigned is pleased to inform you that the Honble CJI has agreed to the request made by SCBA and has requested the Chief Justices of the High Courts to consider lawyers practicing in the Supreme Court for elevation to their High Courts," the communication had stated..Thereafter, the Executive Committee of the SCBA had also constituted a search committee comprising of Vice President Mahalakshmi Pavani and four other eminent members i.e. senior advocates Rakesh Dwivedi, Shekhar Naphade, Vijay Hansaria, and V Giri to facilitate the process of elevation by identifying deserving and meritorious Supreme Court practitioners..[UPDATE] SCBA claims CJI NV Ramana agreed to proposal to elevate Supreme Court lawyers as High Court judges; Not confirmed by CJI office.In the meanwhile, several High Court Bar associations registered strong protest to the proposal. Among others, the Delhi High Court Bar Association, Karnataka lawyers, and the Bar Association of Calcutta High Court were among those who had taken objection to the SCBA's proposal.

Supreme Court declines to disclose information under RTI Act regarding SCBA suggestion to CJI for elevation of SC lawyers as High Court judges

Debayan Roy

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