Fresh CIC notices to heads of 6 parties

New Delhi, May 29

The CIC (Chief Information Commissioner) has issued fresh notices to the chiefs of all six national parties for not responding to Right to Information queries on their functioning and finances.

For the Full Bench hearing scheduled for June 20, the CIC has clubbed cases of 17 RTI applicants of a similar nature, including that of activist RK Jain. “Take notice that the above complaints/appeals in respect of RTI requests filed by the aforesaid complainants /appellants have been listed for hearing before a Full Bench of this commission comprising Information Commissioners M Sridhar Acharyulu, Sudhir Bhargava and Bimal Julka...,” the notice said.

Jain, whose RTI queries regarding functioning and finances of political parties had remained unanswered, has named the then chiefs of the national parties in his complaint. In such proceedings, the liability is of the individual holding the position when the RTI application is filed.

The fresh notices have been issued to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, the BJP president, president /general secretary of the NCP and the BSP and general secretaries of the CPI (M) and the CPI. Besides, the Central Public Information Officer of the Election Commission has been asked to appear during the hearing.

In 2013, on a plea by activist Subhash Agrawal and the Association of Democratic Reforms, the CIC had declared the Congress, BJP, NCP, CPI, CPI-M and BSP as public authorities, thereby bringing them under the ambit of the Right to Information Act.

The CIC is the final appellate authority in RTI matters whose decisions can be challenged through writ petitions in HCs. No party has approached the constitutional courts challenging the order of the CIC so far. Refusal to provide information or not furnishing complete information is deemed an offence under the RTI Act and attracts Rs250 penalty per day. — PTI