SC notice over Madhya Pradesh Assembly RTI rules
29 Sep, 2012Hearing a petition challenging the constitutionality of certain provisions of the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly Secretariat Right to Information (Procedure, Fees and Regulation of Cost) Rules 2010, the Supreme Court (SC) issued notices to the Union of India through Secretary, Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), the state of Madhya Pradesh through Principal Secretary, Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly and the Speaker, Madhya Pradesh legislative assembly.
Earlier the Madhya Pradesh High Court had refused to interfere on a petition challenging the some of the clauses of the impugned rules on the ground that the rules are antithetical to the scheme of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005 and thus ultra vires the RTI Act. The petitioner challenged clause (2)(4)(5)(6) and (8) of Rule 4, clause (1) of Rule 6 and paragraph number 6 of FORM IV of the impugned rules. The petitioner claimed before the SC that the above clauses restrict the right of the citizen to seek and obtain information, which were not envisaged under the Right to Information Act.
The RTI rules of some of the High Courts have been criticised for going beyond the Act.