The Delhi High Court on Wednesday stayed a Central Information Commission (CIC) directive to the Justice Department to disclose documents on the appointment of the Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh. The stay came after the government argued that the information is outside the purview of the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

“Correspondence exchanged between constitutional authorities is beyond the purview of the Act and the Commission erred in law by directing to disclose it,” contended Additional Solicitor General P P Malhotra, who is representing the government. Justice S Ravindra Bhatt, who is hearing the case, also issued notice to the RTI applicant, S C Aggarwal.

The CIC had on January 19 given the Justice Department a month’s deadline to make public “files, documents, records” on the appointment of Justice Jagdish Bhalla.

Dismissing the department’s contention that appointment files of judges in the higher judiciary was exempted from disclosure under the Right to Information Act, 2005, Information Commissioner A N Tiwari had confirmed that such information could be disclosed and did not fall under the exemption provisions in the Act.

The department was directed to provide copies “of complete documents comprising correspondence exchanged between Union Law Minister and other constitutional authorities and notes at Union Law Ministry together with file-notings on appointment of Mr Justice Jagdish Bhalla as Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh”.