Right to Info Act covers judiciary too: Habibullah

FOR THEIR INFORMATION: Habibullah says Right to Information doesn't exempt judiciary.

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New Delhi: The Right to Information Act (RTI) is applicable to the judiciary, Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah has said.

Habibullah’s statement is important, as the Chief Justice of India, K G Balakrishnan, recently said that it was “debatable” whether the judiciary came under the purview of the RTI Act. Before that Balakrishnan had said that constitutional authorities did not come under the purview of the Act.

Habibullah, in an interview to CNN-IBN, disagrees with that view. “It (RTI) Act) is of course applicable to the judiciary, the legislature and the executive. It applies to all organs of the Government and all constitutional bodies,” he said.

Habibullah’s statement comes before a full bench of the Central Information Commission studies whether the judiciary comes under the Act’s purview.

He clarified that he doesn’t want to lock horns with the judiciary on every issue but differences cannot be avoided. "In certain finer points there will be differences and they need to be sorted out in the manner this Act evolves," he said.

Habibullah want to avoid confrontation but it is apparent from his statement he is reluctant to buy easy peace with the judiciary. He is convinced that no institution should be outside the purview of the RTI Act, so the judiciary will have to convince him why an exception needs to for it.