26-05-2025
Supreme Court Junks RTI Plea Seeking In-House Inquiry Report On Justice Varma Cash Row
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The Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) of the top court rejected the application, filed by Maharashtra-based advocate Amritpal Singh Khalsa.
The Supreme Court has rejected an application under Right To Information (RTI) Act, seeking to make public the in-house inquiry committee's report linked with the alleged cash recovery from the house of former Delhi High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma.
Former Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna had forwarded the report along with a letter to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier this month. The apex court has also refused to release a copy of that letter.
The Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) of the top court rejected the application, filed by Maharashtra-based advocate Amritpal Singh Khalsa, saying that the report cannot be provided in view of the decision in the Subhash Chandra Agarwal case.
According to Section 8(1)(e) of the RTI Act, 2005, information available to a person in his fiduciary relationship is exempted from disclosure unless the competent authority is satisfied that the larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information. According to Section 11 of the act, third-party information is exempted from disclosure.
'The information cannot be provided in view of tests outlined by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in its judgment dated 13.11.2019 passed in Civil Appeal Nos.10044- 45/2010 (СPIO, Supreme Court of India Vs. Subhash Chandra Agarwal, (2020) 5 SCС 481) viz. independence of judiciary, proportionality test, fiduciary relationship, invasion of the right to privacy and breach of duty of confidentiality etc. with reference to provisions of Section 8(1)(e) and Section 11(1) of the RTI Act, 2005," the Additional Registrar said in the reply as reported by Bar and Bench.
The Supreme Court had ordered an in-house probe into the alleged discovery of half-burnt cash. Earlier this month, the committee submitted its report to the Chief Justice.
'The three-member Committee consisting of Mr Justice Sheel Nagu, Chief Justice of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana, Mr Justice G S Sandhawalia, Chief Justice of the High Court of Himachal Pradesh, and Ms Justice Anu Sivaraman, Judge of the High Court of Karnataka, constituted for conducting an inquiry into the allegations against Mr Justice Yashwant Varma, a sitting Judge, has submitted its report dated 03.05.2025 to the Chief Justice of India on 04.05.2025," said a release issued by the top court.
While the preliminary report of the Delhi High Court Chief Justice and the response of Justice Varma, along with the photos and videos taken by the Delhi Police, were publicised by uploading them on the Supreme Court's website, the final iquiry report was not made public.
(With inputs from agencies)
