Webdesk: The Right of Access to Information Act, 2017, says that the top court is not a “public body”. So the salaries and allowances of its judges cannot be made public. This is because the top court is not a “public body.”
Under the Right of Access to Information Act, A local channel wrote to the registrar of the Supreme Court of Pakistan on March 27 to find out how much the chief justice of Pakistan and the judges get paid and what benefits they get each month.
On April 5, it got a reply from Khurram Shahzad, who is the assistant registrar of the Court.
Shahzad wrote that the information request “cannot be entertained” because it is not covered by the Act.
He also said that the right to information law only lets people look at records held by “public bodies.”
“Even though the definition of “public body” in the Act of 2017 is very complete”. The assistant registrar wrote, “The legislature, in its wisdom, did not include this Court in that definition. As well as left it out of the Act’s scope.”
The letter says that the chief justice of Pakistan gave his or her permission for it to be sent.
The Right of Access to Information Act of 2017 says that a “public body” is any government or state institution. As well as “any federal court, tribunal, commission, or board.”
Salaries of Judges in India
In neighbouring India, on the other hand, the salaries, pensions, allowances. As well as gratuities of the chief justice of India, judges of the Supreme Court. Chief justice of the High Courts, and judges of the High Courts are all listed on the website of India’s department of justice. Their website last updated on February 24, 2022.
But in January of this year, in a related event, India’s Gujarat High Court threw out a petition asking about the pay of high court judges. It said that the information couldn’t be given out under their Right of Information Act because it was “personal information.”
