GOA GOVERNOR MOVES HIGH COURT SEEKING STAY OF RTI JUDGEMENT.

GOA GOVERNOR MOVES HIGH COURT SEEKING STAY OF RTI JUDGEMENT

The Governor of Goa has filed a petition before the Bombay High Court at Goa seeking a stay of the judgment passed by the High Court on November 14th which had ruled that the Governor of Goa was a public authority and came within the ambit of the Right to Information Act. The petition will be heard on Monday 28th November by a Division bench comprising of Justice A.P Lavande and Justice U.V.Bakre

In his petition Dr.N.Radhakrishnan, Special Secretary to the Governor of Goa has sought stay of the High Court Judgment as the Governor has decided to challenge it before the Supreme Court.

Dr Radhakrishnan has further submitted that if the judgment is not stayed he would suffer grave loss and prejudice as the Goa Raj Bhavan would be compelled to furnish information sought under the Right to Information Act.

The Goa Raj Bhavan’s petition follows a legal notice served earlier this week by Adv. Aires Rodrigues demanding that all the information sought by him through his 15 applications under the RTI Act which are pending at the Raj Bhavan be furnished to him within 7 days.

In one of the applications Adv. Aires Rodrigues had sought from Goa Raj Bhavan under the RTI Act details of the action taken by the Goa Governor on the complaints filed by him against the Advocate General of Goa Mr. Subodh Kantak. Adv. Rodrigues had also sought copies of noting sheets and correspondence pertaining to the processing of his complaints against the Advocate General.

The Bombay High Court at Goa by a judgment on 14th November had clearly ruled that the Governor of Goa was a Public Authority coming within the ambit of the RTI Act and that the Public Information Officer at the Goa Raj Bhavan was duty bound to furnish information sought under the RTI Act.

Despite every other Governor in the country and even the President of India complying with the RTI Act, the Goa Raj Bhavan over the last five years had chosen to avoid furnishing information under the RTI Act on the grounds that the Governor of Goa was not a Public Authority.

It may be recalled that the former Chief Justice of India J.S.Verma who is also a former Governor himself on a visit to Goa earlier this year had publicly opined that the Goa Governor was a Public Authority and did come within the ambit of the Right to Information Act. A similar view was also strongly expressed by noted RTI Activist Aruna Roy while in Goa recently.

Ironically the current Goa Governor Mr. K. Sankaranarayanan who is complying with the RTI Act as Governor of Maharashtra, in Goa like his predecessor Dr. S.S.Sidhu has refused to comply with the Act where he is holding additional charge as Governor.