absolute transparency in all facets of government is neither feasible nor desirable

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

CIVIL APPEAL NO. 10044 OF 2010

CENTRAL PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER,

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA ….. APPELLANT(S)

VERSUS

SUBHASH CHANDRA AGARWAL ….. RESPONDENT(S)

W I T H

CIVIL APPEAL NO. 10045 OF 2010

A N D

CIVIL APPEAL NO. 2683 OF 2010

J U D G M E N T

SANJIV KHANNA, J.

70. Most jurists would accept that absolute transparency in all facets 

of government is neither feasible nor desirable,47 for there are 

several limitations on complete disclosure of governmental 

information, especially in matters relating to national security, 

diplomatic relations, internal security or sensitive diplomatic 

correspondence. There is also a need to accept and trust the 

government’s decision-makers, which they have to also earn, 

when they plead that confidentiality in their meetings and 

47 Michael Schudson, ‘The Right to Know vs the Need for Secrecy: The US Experience’ The 

Conversation (May 2015) <https://theconversation.com/the-right-to-know-vs-the-need-for-secrecythe-us-experience-40948>; Eric R. Boot, ‘The Feasibility of a Public Interest Defense for 

Whistleblowing’, Law and Philosophy (2019). See generally Michael Schudson, The Rise of the 

Right to Know: Politics and the Culture of Transparency, 1945–1975 (Cambridge (MA): Harvard 

University Press 2015). 

Civil Appeal No. 10044 of 2010 & Ors. Page 83 of 108

exchange of views is needed to have a free flow of views on 

sensitive, vexatious and pestilent issues in which there can be 

divergent views. This is, however, not to state that there are no 

dangers in maintaining secrecy even on aspects that relate to 

national security, diplomatic relations, internal security or sensitive 

diplomatic correspondence. Confidentiality may have some 

bearing and importance in ensuring honest and fair appraisals,

though it could work the other way around also and, therefore, 

what should be disclosed would depend on authentic enquiry 

relating to the public interest, that is, whether the right to access 

and the right to know outweighs the possible public interest in 

protecting privacy or outweighs the harm and injury to third parties 

when the information relates to such third parties or the 

information is confidential in nature.