In a significant ruling, the Central Information Commission (CIC) on Wednesday held that notes and orders in the file leading to framing and notification of Supreme Court Rules, 2013 (which deal with issues related to functioning of courts) are not exempt from the purview of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005.
An order by Chief Information Commissioner Radha Krishna Mathur observed that the notes and orders are not covered under Section (1)(g) of the RTI Act as ‘assistance given in confidence for law enforcement or security purposes’.
“The framing of Rules is a legislative function and it is neither a judicial function nor it is concerned with any security measures. The note/notings/ deliberations relating to framing of Rules cannot be termed assistance given in confidence for law enforcement. The provision can relate to payment to informers by police, IB and CBI, etc,” the order said.
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The applicant, Satya Narain Shukla from Lucknow, had approached the CIC after his petition seeking photocopies of notes and orders in the concerned file on Supreme Court Rules, 2013 prescribing requirement of prior interaction with the Registrar for permitting a party to appear and argue the case in person was not entertained.
It was declined on the ground that the deliberations made in the Full Court meeting and the disclosures of the same would render the ‘system unworkable n practice’.