Business Standard: New Delhi: Friday, December 08, 2017.
The Delhi
High Court has set aside the Central Information Commission (CIC) verdict
declaring ministers as "public authorities" and answerable under the
Right to Information law.
Justice Vibhu
Bakhru quashed the CIC landmark judgment last year, saying the order was
"wholly outside the scope" of the matter before it.
The court
said: "There was no occasion for the CIC to enter upon the question as to
whether a Minister is a 'public authority' under Section 2(h) of the Act... In
view of the above, the order dated March 12, 2016 cannot be sustained and is,
accordingly, set aside."
The high
court's order came on the Central government's appeal against the CIC order.
The case stems from an application filed by a Maharashtra resident who wanted
to know how to get an appointment with the Union Law Minister.
In November
2014, the man moved an application before Additional Private Secretary,
Minister of Law and Justice seeking to know the time period of minister or
minister of state meeting the general public. As the information sought was not
received, the matter reached the CIC.
Here the
commission went on to frame the questions whether the minister or his office
was a "public authority" under the RTI Act and whether a citizen has
the right to information sought and whether the minister has corresponding
obligation to give it.
The CIC said
each minister should get a website of their own where they can disclose
information on their own as mandated under the transparency law.
The high
court, however, said that the commission could not have gone into the above
question.
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