Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Dec 26: High Court today directed the authorities to strictly adhere the mandate of Right to Information Act.
Closing a PIL seeking direction to the authorities to disclose the information on official website, the Division Bench of Justice Ali Mohammad Magray and Justice Sanjeev Kumar while observing that there is no purpose to keep the instant PIL pending and closed the same with the direction to the authorities to strictly adhere to the mandate of RTI Act.
The direction was also sought to command the authorities to finalize a working plan for creating awareness about RTI law within the meaning of Section 3 of the Act.
The petitioner counsel submits that Section 4 of the J&K Right to Information Act, 2009, as enacted by the State legislature, made it obligatory and compulsory for all the public authorities operating in Jammu and Kashmir to make a suo-moto/ pro-active disclosure of all the permissible information available with them within a period of 120 days from the date of commencement of the Act. In that backdrop, the counsel submits that the Act came into force on 20th of March, 2009.
He further added that the public authorities in Jammu and Kashmir were expected to comply with the said provision of law, however, to the utter dismay, almost all the public authorities operating under the administrative control of the respondents have miserably failed to satisfy the requirements of law.
On the other hand State counsel submits that there shall be no difficulty for the respondents to adhere to the instructions/ directions contained in the J&K Right to Information Act, 2009.
“In the event, the petitioner movement is unsatisfied with any action on the part of the respondents, or any of the Government Departments, the petitioner movement shall be at liberty to approach the appropriate forum for seeking redressal of their grievances”, Court said.
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