The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that the office of the Chief Justice of India (CJI) is "public authority" under the purview of the transparency law, Right to Information Act (RTI) and observed that the transparency does not undermine judicial independence. A five-judge Constitution Bench of the apex court gave the verdict while upholding the 2010 judgment of the Delhi High Court which ruled that office of the CJI comes under the purview of the RTI.

"Public interest demands that transparency is maintained," the apex court said, adding that transparency strengthens the judicial independence.