SC issue notices to Centre, ECI to bring political parties under RTI Act
Supreme Court issued notices to the Union Government, Election Commission of India (ECI) on a plea to bring all political parties under the ambit of Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005.
The notice was also issued to six National Political Parties viz. BJP, Congress, CPI, BSP, CPI (M) and NCP.
It was issued by 3 member SC bench headed by Chief Justice HL Dattu on the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by an NGO, Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR). The bench comprised of Justice Arun Kumar Mishra and Justice Amitava Roy .
In the PIL, the NGO had sought
- Transparency and accountability in functioning of political parties.
- Political parties should be more transparent in their working and accountable towards citizens as they play an important role in the formation of government, policy decisions and enactment of laws.
- Compulsion on the political parties to declare all donations below 20,000 rupees.
The petition was filed in SC after the Central Information Commission (CIC) failed to bring the National Political Parties as Public Authority under Section 2(h) of the RTI Act. Earlier. CIC in its detailed order had declared that the Political Parties are public authorities and hence should disclose the information under RTI Act.
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Month: Current Affairs - July, 2015