Leader of opposition comes under RTI Act: rules CIC

New Delhi, Sep 24 (PTI) The office of Leader of Opposition
in Lok Sabha (Lower House of Indian Parliament) is covered
under the RTI Act and should provide information as per its
provisions, the Central Information Commission ruled Thursday.
Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah said
"office of Leader of Opposition is a public authority" as it
is created by a notification of the government but reserved
his decision whether it is part of Lok Sabha secretariat or an
independent office.
Habibullah was hearing the plea of an RTI applicant
Subhash Chandra Agrawal who sought detailed information from L
K Advani on the letter written by former Home Minister to
Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh on issue of black money
stashed in Swiss banks and Finance Minister's reply to it.
Initially Advani's office did not reply to his queries but
after the complaint notice was sent by CIC, his secretary
Deepak Chopra provided the communication.
In his reply Chopra had said the office of leader of
opposition was serviced by Lok Sabha and letter was sent to it
for further action. The Lok Sabha secretariat informed him
that they did not jurisdiction over the office.
When the matter reached the CIC, Chopra in a written
submission said, "If the Commission holds this institution as
'public authority' then the Lok Sabha Secretariat ought to
implement the provisions of the Act..."
"It is therefore stated that the Lok Sabha Secretariat
completely services the Leader of Opposition for all practical
purposes and must take responsibility of implementing the RTI
Act," Chopra said in his submission.
The Lok Sabha secretariat submitted if the Commission
concludes that the office is a public authority under the RTI
Act, it cannot be held a part of secretariat for the reason
that it has no access to information held by the office.
The confidential information is held by the person holding
the post, it said.
"The office is under the administration and control of the
Leader of Opposition and the Lok Sabha Secretariat has no role
to play in its administration except for providing statutory
allowances and benefits," it said.
It said that it is not a necessary party in the present
issue being adjudicated by the Commission.
"The confidentiality and credibility of the information
would also be an issue and the Lok Sabha secretariat would be
reduced to a liaisoning office," the advocate representing the
secretariat said.
The Commission said it needs to examine whether it is a
part of Lok Sabha secretariat or an independent one.
The matter of "black money" stashed in Swiss accounts
surfaced during the pre-election debates when BJP leader
Advani promised to make efforts to bring it back. PTI ABS
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