Copy Of Oath Taken By HC Judges Cannot Be Sought Under RTI, Says Chhattisgarh HC [Read Judgment]

Copy of oath taken and subscribed by High Court judges cannot be sought under RTI, the Chhattisgarh High Court has held.

One Arun Kumar Gupta had made an application to the Public Information Officer of the High Court seeking copy of oath taken and subscribed by two High Court judges viz. Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Justice N.K. Agarwal. PIO and later the Appellate authority held that the information sought is barred from disclosure and is exempted by the provisions contained in Section 8(1)(e) or 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act. The State Information Commission set aside these orders and ordered disclosure of the information sought. The Public Information Officer then approached the High Court challenging the order of State Information Commission.

While considering this petition, the Court noted that the RTI Applicant did not disclose any public interest much less larger public interest involved in seeking such information of the Judges in the said application.

While quashing the order passed by the State Information Commission, Justice Sanjay K. Agrawal observed:

The application filed by respondent No.1 under Section 6 of the Act of 2005 was bereft and fails to fulfill the requirement under Section 8(1)(j) of the Act of 2005 and thus, grant of such information by the learned Information Commission simply holding that oath is taken by the Hon'ble Judges in public in presence of respectable persons as such, the information sought for is granted under Sections 8 and 19(8)(a)(iv) of the Act of 2005, runs contrary to the law and is liable to be quashed. 

Click here to Read/Download Judgment