The News International: PK: Saturday,
July 16, 2016.
The Lahore
High Court (LHC) has upheld a decision by the Punjab Information Commission
directing the Punjab University (PU) to disclose details about hiring of its
visiting teachers under the provincial right to information law.
The
university had moved the LHC against a decision of the commission issued last
month on the complaint of a citizen Sarmad Ali. Sarmad had requested
information regarding hiring criteria of visiting faculty members in the Law
College of PU and their total strength under the Punjab Transparency and Right
to Information Act 2013.
However, the
university had insisted that the information could only be provided to applicants
who submit a copy of their Computerised National Identity Card (CNIC). The
applicant moved the Punjab Information Commission after refusal of the
university to provide details. The commission issued an order on June 10, 2016
directing the information officer of the university to share the details with
the applicant. The commission held that requirement of the CNIC copy is not
mandatory for the provision of information under the RTI law. “Some people
still do not have CNICs, especially in rural areas, and some others can’t
afford photocopying,” the commission said in its ruling.
The
commission said the spirit of RTI law is to facilitate people in getting access
to information. “The procedure should be simplified to facilitate people,” it
said. But the Punjab University management went to the LHC against the decision
accusing the commission of becoming a party and terming its verdict as illegal.
However, the LHC judge Shahid Karim dismissed the petition. “The impugned order
is based upon rational and reasonable grounds and has dealt with the objection
of the petitioner university in a cogent and lawful manner and there is no
cause for interference in the impugned order of this court in its
constitutional jurisdiction,” the court ruled.
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