KanglaOnline: Imphal: Friday,
May 31, 2013.
The Human
Rights Law Network (Manipur) has in a release said that the High Court of
Manipur has, in response to a Public Interest Litigation filed by the newly
formed High Court of Manipur Bar Association through its president Rarry
Mangsatabam passed an order directing the State Respondents to fill up the
vacant posts of the State Chief Information Commissioner and State Information
Commissioners of the Manipur Information Commission within a period of six
months in accordance with the provisions of the Right to Information Act,
2005. According to the release, the said
order was passed on May 29 by a division bench of the High Court of Manipur
comprising of Chief Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre and Justice N Kotiswar Singh.
The said Act mandates that by virtue of Sub Section (1) of Section 15 of the
RTI Act, the State Government shall by notification in the official Gazette
constitute a body to be known as Information commission to exercise the powers
conferred on and to perform the functions assigned to it under this Act, it
said.
Consequently,
on 12th September 2006, the Government of Manipur had issued a notification in
the name of the Governor of Manipur for the constitution of Manipur Information
Commission under the relevant provision of the Right to Information Act, 2005
wherein RK Agousana Singh, IAS (retired) was being appointed as the Chief
Information Commissioner under the above noted notification, it said.
Thereafter,
the Manipur Information Commission started its functioning by its lone Chief
Information Commissioner until the appointment of Birendra Singh, IAS (Retired)
as Information Commissioner of the Manipur Information Commission.
Consequently, the Chief Information Commissioner and the State Information
Commissioner started functioning by holding their separate benches for sometime
till the retirement of the Chief Information Commissioner on 12th September
2011, it said.
Thereafter,
the remaining State Information Commissioner continued its functioning till the
passing of the judgment and order dated 13th September 2012 passed in “Namit
Sharma -Versus- Union of India” by the Supreme Court of India whereby the said
judgment mandates for functioning of the Information Commission in the benches
of two in which one of them should be a judicial officer, it said.
However, the
operation of the above mentioned directions of the Supreme Court of India was
stayed on 16th April 2013 during the pendency of a review petition filed the
Union of India. In regard to its operation of the said judgment, the Supreme
Court of India has further clarified that subject to orders that may be finally
passed after hearing the Review Petition, the Competent authority will continue
to fill up the vacant posts of the Information Commissions in accordance with
the Judgment In Namit Sharma -Vs- Union of India except the relevant paragraphs
which have been stayed by the Supreme Court of India, it said.
Having heard
the submission of the learned counsel for the petitioner Meihoubam
Rakesh, the
High Court passed the order directing the State Respondents to appoint the
incumbent Chief Information Commissioner and the Information Commissioner
within a period of six months, it said.
The
Respondents in the PIL are (i) the State of Manipur, (ii)
Commissioner/Secretary (DP & AR), Government of Manipur and Secretary (Law
& Legislative Affairs), Government of Manipur.
The present
PIL has been filed under the active initiative of Human rights Law Network
(Manipur).
.JPG)
.JPG)
