the goan I network
PANAJI
The State Information Commission on Monday ruled that the office of the Goa Governor does indeed come within the ambit of the Goa Lokayukta and directed the Raj Bhavan to appoint a public information officer.
The State Information Commissioner while disposing the petition said that the points raised by the complainant Aires Rodrigues have already been decided upon and there was no reason to interfere in the orders previously passed by the Information Commission and referred to earlier orders passed by the previous Commissioner.
In the complaint filed under section 18 (1) (a) of the RTI Act Adv. Aires Rodrigues had drawn the attention of the Goa State Information Commission that the Goa Raj Bhavan despite being a “Public authority’ in terms of section 2 (h) of the RTI Act had not appointed a Public Information Officer (PIO) for members of the public to be able to seek information and that the Goa Raj Bhavan has also not made the mandatory disclosures required under section 4 (1) of the RTI Act.
Adv Rodrigues stated that as the Goa Raj Bhavan is covered under the definition of public authority, the failure to appoint a PIO was illegal. On a complaint filed by Adv. Aires Rodrigues the then State Chief Information Commissioner Mr. Motilal Keny on 31st March 2011 had ruled that the Goa Governor was a “Public Authority” and did come within the ambit of the Right to Information Act.
Later dismissing the appeal filed by the Goa Raj Bhavan against the order of the GSIC, the Bombay High Court at Goa in a landmark 58 page judgment pronounced on 14th November 2011 also ruled that the Governor of Goa was a Public Authority and was bound to furnish information sought under the RTI Act. Taking a stand that the Goa Governor is not a Public Authority and does not come within the ambit of the RTI Act, the Goa Raj Bhavan later challenged before the Supreme Court the Bombay High Court judgment. A Division Bench of the Supreme Court comprising of Justice Arun Mishra and Justice Amitava Roy on 30th January this year dismissed the Special Leave Petition filed by the Goa Raj Bhavan.
