CHIEF INFORMATION COMMISSIONER vs HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AND ANOTHER

Bench: 3 — R. Banumathi, A.S. Bopanna, Hrishikesh Roy

In Brief

The Supreme Court held that the Gujarat High Court Rules requiring third parties seeking certified copies of court documents to file an affidavit stating their reasons are not inconsistent with the Right to Information Act, 2005. The Court confirmed that when an effective mechanism for accessing information already exists under High Court Rules, the RTI Act provisions need not be invoked. The non-obstante clause in Section 22 of the RTI Act does not override High Court Rules absent clear inconsistency. Information held on the judicial side comprises personal information of litigants requiring safeguards against misuse. The appeals were dismissed, upholding that certified copies on the judicial side should be obtained through the High Court Rules mechanism.

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Right to Information Constitutional Law High Court Procedure Administrative Law Judicial Records Information Access Statutory Interpretation Non-Obstante Clause

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