Courts, tribunals beyond purview of RTI Act: CIC

: In a significant decision, the Central Information Commission (CIC) has ruled that judicial proceedings of courts and tribunals are beyond the purview of the Right to Information Act.

"A judicial authority must function with total independence and freedom, should it be found that an action initiated under the RTI Act impinges upon the authority of that judicial body, the commission will not authorise the use of RTI Act for any such disclosure requirement," the commission said.

Section 4(1) of RTI Act does not apply to judicial proceedings conducted by a court or tribunal as it refers only to administrative and quasi-judicial decisions of public authorities, the CIC added.

Terming any intrusion with regard to judicial work as "unnecessary", a full bench headed by chief information commissioner Wajahat Habibullah noted, "Judiciary is independent and all judicial authorities including all courts and tribunals must work independently and without any interference insofar as their judicial work is concerned."
Dismissing the applicant's plea that anyone seeking inspection of records should be allowed on payment of prescribed fees, the commission said the RTI Act gave "total discretion" to the court or the tribunal to decide as to what should be allowed for disclosure. The commission, which has remanded the case back to the president and appellate authority of ITAT to determine the issue of disclosure of information, made it clear that any remedy, if available, to the applicant shall only be under the Income Tax law.

Discussing at length the differences between the RTI Act and procedures prescribed by High Courts or tribunals in providing information, the bench observed, "Neither provision prohibits or forbids dissemination of information or grant of copies of records."