The News International: Karachi: Monday, 12 June 2023.
The Sindh High Court (SHC) has directed the chief secretary to submit a progress report mentioning steps being taken to implement the Sindh Transparency and Right to Information Act.
The direction came recently on a petition seeking the implementation of the Section 6 of the law that bound public bodies to proactively disclose information. The petitioner submitted that a public body was bound under the law to proactively disclose and publish particulars of its organisation, functions and duties, budget, all proposed and actual expenditures, execution of subsidy programmes and other functions, but the law was not being implemented in letter and spirit.
He submitted that every public body was supposed to disseminate all information as widely as possible, including on the internet, so that all the citizens had easy access to it. The chief secretary filed his statement with a supportive affidavit that said the administrative secretaries of departments had submitted their statements mentioning that the Section 6 of the Act was being partially implemented and within the shortest possible time, proactive disclosure of information would be ensured through the internet so that all the citizens had access to it.
He said the administrative secretaries had stated that a system would be made operational within a one month in this regard and requested the high court to dispose of the petition on the basis of such statements.
A division bench of the high court headed by Justice Yousuf Ali Sayeed after taking the statement of the chief secretary on record directed him to file a report on further steps that had been taken to comply with the Section 6 of the Sindh Transparency and Right to Information Act.
The Sindh High Court (SHC) has directed the chief secretary to submit a progress report mentioning steps being taken to implement the Sindh Transparency and Right to Information Act.
The direction came recently on a petition seeking the implementation of the Section 6 of the law that bound public bodies to proactively disclose information. The petitioner submitted that a public body was bound under the law to proactively disclose and publish particulars of its organisation, functions and duties, budget, all proposed and actual expenditures, execution of subsidy programmes and other functions, but the law was not being implemented in letter and spirit.
He submitted that every public body was supposed to disseminate all information as widely as possible, including on the internet, so that all the citizens had easy access to it. The chief secretary filed his statement with a supportive affidavit that said the administrative secretaries of departments had submitted their statements mentioning that the Section 6 of the Act was being partially implemented and within the shortest possible time, proactive disclosure of information would be ensured through the internet so that all the citizens had access to it.
He said the administrative secretaries had stated that a system would be made operational within a one month in this regard and requested the high court to dispose of the petition on the basis of such statements.
A division bench of the high court headed by Justice Yousuf Ali Sayeed after taking the statement of the chief secretary on record directed him to file a report on further steps that had been taken to comply with the Section 6 of the Sindh Transparency and Right to Information Act.
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