Business Standard: Kochi: Saturday, April 30, 2016.
The Kerala
High Court today stayed a state government order exempting the State Vigilance
and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) from the purview of Right to Information Act.
Passing
interim orders on a PIL, a division bench headed by Justice P N Ravindran said
prima facie there was some infirmity in the January 27 government order.
Petitioner Indian Association of Lawyers submitted that though the Chief
Minister had declared that the order exempting VACB from the purview of RTI
will be revoked before the model code of conduct for the May 16 Assembly came
into force, so far nothing in this regard had been done by the government.
The
government opposed the PIL pointing out that the coming assembly election was
the only motive behind it. The petitioner argued that the order was a sheer
abuse of power.
Noting that
RTI Act allowed exemption of only intelligence and security organisations from
its purview, the PIL alleged the state government issued the order to cover up
large-scale corruption committed by ministers and higher officials.
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