Plea in Delhi High Court against denial of RTI info on complaints against Justice T Raja

The Delhi High Court on Monday issued notice on a plea seeking information under the Right to Information Act (RTI Act) regarding whether the Supreme Court Collegium had received any complaints of corruption or misconduct against former Madras High Court judge, Justice T Raja..The plea has been filed by journalist and RTI activist Saurav Das, through his lawyer, Advocate Prashant Bhushan.A Bench of Justice Sachin Datta has sought a response from the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) of the Supreme Court..Das had initially filed his RTI application on April 25, 2023 seeking the information on three aspects, that is (i) whether any complaints of corruption or improper conduct were received with respect to Justice Raja during his tenure as a High Court judge; (ii) If so, the total number of such complaints, and (iii) the action taken on such complaints..The Supreme Court's central public information officer (CPIO), an additional registrar, had refused to provide the details, stating that no such information is maintained. Das filed an appeal challenging this decision. This first appeal was dismissed, prompting Das to file a second appeal before the Central Information Commission (CIC).In October 2024, the CIC asked the Supreme Court's PIO to re-examine its response and furnish details on the number of complaints received against the former High Court judge. However, the CIC added that the PIO is not bound to give information on action taken, if any, on such complaints. The CIC reasoned that this was personal information that Das need not be given access to, since he is not a complainant. The Supreme Court PIO later declined to provide any information again on the first two queries, citing the same reason that the information was not maintained in the format he had specified. .Das has now challenged this refusal to give information before the High Court..Das has contended that the question of whether the Supreme Court has received any complaint against a judge is a simple 'yes' or 'no' query, which does not require the information to be maintained or disclosed in any specific format. He further argues that he has not requested the information in any particular format.He has also challenged the CIC's finding that no information needs to be furnished on whether action was taken on complaints, if any, against Justice Raja.“Transparency and accountability in the functioning of judiciary are sine qua non for the healthy functioning of our democracy. The Respondent failed to consider that the information sought in point no. 3 cannot be denied to the parliament and State Legislature, and the same information cannot be denied to the public, it concerns the broader public interest in Judicial Transparency and Judicial Accountability,” Das' plea added.The matter will be heard next on September 8.