Balakrishnan and Chatterjee

New Delhi, April 22: No constitutional authority — including the Chief Justice of India — is exempt from the Right to Information Act, the country’s top umpire on the transparency legislation told The Telegraph today.

Chief information commissioner Wajahat Habibullah’s clarification comes in the wake of comments by Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan reportedly seeking exemption from the act.

“The Chief Justice is not a public servant. He is a constitutional authority. The RTI act does not cover constitutional authorities,” Balakrishnan is reported to have said at a briefing of reporters on April 19.

Habibullah said he was not certain about the exact comments. “But no constitutional authority is exempt from the RTI act.”

Habibullah heads the Central Information Commission, India’s apex watchdog for the implementation of the RTI. Posts like the Chief Justice, President and Prime Minister are all constitutional authorities.

The Supreme Court has in the past asked for immunity from the act — a demand rejected by the department of personnel and training, the nodal agency for the RTI.

But bureaucrats of the same department, on some occasions, have refused to divulge information on the appointments of judges at high courts and the Supreme Court.

The commission, however, ordered the department to reveal the information.

Nineteen government organisations are exempt from the act. These include intelligence agencies — the Intelligence Bureau, the Research and Analysis Wing, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence and the Central Economic Intelligence Bureau.

Research bodies working with the country’s security apparatus are immune to the law. Paramilitary forces are also shielded.

The Directorate of Enforcement, the Narcotics Control Bureau, the Special Service Bureau, the special branch of police in Andaman and Nicobar, Lakshadweep and Dadra and Nagar Haveli complete the list of organisations excused from the act.

Even these organisations are, however, required to provide information under the act if the panel believes the appellant’s query relates to a case of corruption or human rights.

Asked about the Chief Justice’s reported statement, Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee disagreed with Balakrishnan.

“The right to information is enshrined in the Constitution, and all constitutional offices are created under the Constitution, making the implementing legislation for the RTI binding on constitutional authorities,” an official close to the Speaker quoted him as saying.