Activists working to promote Right to Information (RTI) Act on Monday said they will move court if Parliament gives its nod to amendments in the transparency law aimed at providing immunity to political parties from providing information. A bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Monday to keep political parties out of the ambit of the RTI Act and negate a Central Information Commission (CIC) order to this effect.
"Many activists and NGOs working for the RTI Act will move court if Parliament gives nod to the proposed amendments," said Venkatesh Nayak, Coordinator (of Access to Information Programme), Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI). At first glance, the amendment Bill only seeks to exclude political parties from the purview of the RTI Act and will have retrospective effect if enacted in this form.
"So it effectively nullifies the CIC's order of June 2013 declaring six political parties--BJP, BSP, NCP, CPI and CPI-M--as public authorities," he said. A preliminary analysis indicates that the amendment suggested in the Bill violates the right to equality and equal treatment to all persons guaranteed by the Constitution under Article 14. It seeks to treat political parties as a separate category from other substantially-financed non-governmental organisations, Nayak contended.
The Supreme Court and the High Courts have frowned upon laws that are made specifically to nullify the decisions of courts having a retrospective effect, Nayak said, adding that the language of the Bill gives enough ammunition to challenge it in courts as well as in the public domain. Another activist Vivek Garg alleged the government was trying to block transparency in governance by making changes in RTI Act.
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