Two separate Benches of the Supreme Court on March 15 gave their opinions on the “sealed cover jurisprudence” practised by the government in courts.
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- The apex court was critical about how the government and its agencies file reports in sealed envelopes directly in court without sharing the contents with the opposite party.
- The ‘sealed cover jurisprudence’ is usually done on the ground that the contents are highly sensitive in nature, and may injure even national security or “public order”.
- Another reason given by state agencies, mostly in money laundering cases, is that the disclosure would affect ongoing investigation.
- Being kept in the dark about the material contained in a sealed cover report, the petitioners are not able to defence, since they do not know what they are supposed to defend against.
- Many times, their cases, mostly involving fundamental rights such as personal liberty, are dismissed on the basis of the secret contents ensconced in the sealed covers.
- Justice Chandrachud said the court would like to examine the larger issue of ‘sealed cover jurisprudence’, especially in the background of bans on media houses.
- Justice Chandrachud said there were only a “small exception” of cases in which the court, for the benefit of the parties, do not want them to see the government files.
(Source: The Hindu)
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