Thaindian News

Panaji, June 6 (IANS) The Bombay High Court Monday asked the Goa governor’s office not to deny information sought under the Right to Information (RTI) on the pretext that the matter was sub judice.

A division bench of the court in Panaji comprising Justice S.A. Bobde and Justice F.M. Reis told a Raj Bhavan counsel to instruct the public information officer (PIO) in Goa Governor S.S. Sidhu’s office not to deny information.

It was hearing a petition filed by Sidhu’s special secretary N. Radhakrishnan challenging a March 31 order of the State Information Commission that had directed the Raj Bhavan to furnish information sought by petitioner Aires Rodrigues under the RTI Act.

The high court also directed that the case would be heard June 15, along with yet another petition filed by leader of opposition Manohar Parrikar, who was denied information under the RTI Act by the Goa governor’s office in 2008.

Under the RTI Act, Rodrigues had last year sought details of action taken on the complaints made by him to the governor against Advocate General Subodh Kantak. Rodrigues had also sought copies of noting sheets and correspondence pertaining to the processing of his complaints against the advocate general of Goa.

After the Goa governor’s office refused to part with information claiming it did not come under the purview of the RTI Act, the petitioner had appealed to the state Chief Information Commissioner Motilal Keny, who had subsequently ruled that the Goa governor was a “public authority” and does come within the ambit of the Right to Information Act.

Sidhu’s office had then appealed against Keny’s order in the high court.