The Supreme Court will hear on February 6 the plea challenging Government’s 2011 decision to keep the Central Bureau Investigation, CBI out of the ambit of the Right to Information Act. A bench headed by the Chief Justice Dipak Misra posted the matter for final hearing after the parties said that they need time to make detailed submissions on the issue.
The case was first filed in the Delhi High Court, but later transferred to the top court after the Centre had said that several petitions in this regard have been filed in different high courts across the country.
A Public Interest Litigation seeking that the probe agency be brought under the RTI Act was filed in 2011 in the Delhi High Court by an advocate. The High Court had issued notices to the Government and the CBI in July 2011.
The advocate had alleged that the agency was brought out of the ambit of the RTI after he sought information regarding documents relating to the politically sensitive Bofors payoff case. The Government had told the court that the exemption granted to the CBI under RTI was not a blanket exemption and does not warrant judicial interference.
