SC S-G impleaded in plea for info on district judges

The Madras High Court Bench here today impleaded the the Secretary General of the Supreme Court in a writ petition seeking information under the RTI Act on the appointment of 23 district judges in Tamil Nadu.
Chief Justice S.K.Kaul and Justice S.Manikumar, admitting the petition filed by a city-based advocate, asked the Secretary general to be impleaded.
The bench also orderd suo-motu impleadment of the state Home Secretary in the case.
The Judges directed the officials to file the police verification report as well as the application of all the 23 entry-level judges with the court and posted the petition for further hearing on June 4.

Petitioner K Kathiresan submitted that he sent a RTI query to the Madras High Court Registrar (Administration), the designated Public Information Officer (PIO), on November 25 last year seeking the copies of application forms and police verification reports of the 23 district judges appointed in 2013.
However, the information was not provided to him even though he had followed the right appeal process before the first and second appellate authority, the petitioner said.
The Registrar General and the Principal Information Commissioner also did not reply, he said contending that the PIO was liable to pay Rs 25,000 as penalty for his failure to provide the information.