In March 2025, a major controversy had erupted when piles of burnt cash were found from Justice Yashwant Varma’s house. Supreme of Court of India had constituted an in-House committee to investigate the incident. The committee submitted its report earlier in May this year. Following which, the Chief Justice of India at the time, Sanjiv Khanna, had written a letter to President and Prime Minister of India.
An RTI was filed with the Supreme Court for the details of the committee report and the letters written by the Chief Justice. However, Supreme Court has now rejected the request and has refused to make public those details.
The Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) of Supreme Court rejected the application, saying that it cannot be provided in view of the decision in the Subhash Chandra Agarwal case where Supreme Court noted that there has to be a balance between Right to Privacy and Right to Information.
CPIO also cited provisions of the RTI Act, including sections 8(1)(e) and 11., which suggest that such third-party information can be disclosed only if the competent authority is satisfied that it’s in the public interest.
