NEW DELHI: The striking difference in the attitudes of two pillars of
democracy—legislature and judiciary—towards the applicability of the
Right to Information (RTI) Act in their fields is becoming glaring by
the day. Just after the Lok Sabha Speaker and the Chief Justice of
India publicly aired their divergent views on application of RTI Act
to their offices, the duo present an equally contrasting study in
asking their respective colleagues to declare assets and liabilities
and make it public.
A day after Chief Justice Of India K G Balakrishnan said the judges of
SC and HCs have "voluntarily" (there is no rule to make it mandatory)
declared the details of assets to him but that he will not make it
public, it has come to the light that LS speaker Somnath Chatterjee
has not only "officially enforced mandatory declaration" of the assets
and liabilities of all the Lok Sabha MPs to his office secretariat but
has even formally ordered the opening of the sealed envelopes
containing those details as and when sought by anyone through the RTI
Act.
The decision to enforce 'mandatory' filing of the details of assets
and liabilities of the MPs to the office of the Speaker has come in
addition to the fact that all of them have already declared it in
affidavits to the Election Commission while filing nominations to
contest the Lok Sabha polls. The Speaker's order has roots in a rule
framed by the Lok Sabha on the recommendations of the House ethics
committee much before the RTI Act was passed.
In 2004, Mr Chatterjee issued an order asking all MPs to follow this
rule in letter and spirit. There has been cent per cent adherence to
the order for sending the details of MPs' assets and liabilities in
sealed covers to the secretariat. It is also mandatory for the MPs to
update these details on an yearly basis as and when there is a change
in its status.
When the RTI Act was subsequently enacted, many applications started
reaching the Lok Sabha secretariat, seeking the latest details of Mps'
assets, creating an entirely new situation for the staff. The initial
advise to the Speaker from the Lok Sabha secretariat was against
letting public know the details. The Speaker then over-ruled this view
and issued an order, asking the designated staff to open the sealed
covers. The only condition was that the applicants should reach the
Lok Sabha secretariat to personally see the declared assets.
The mounting demand for RTI's application in SC has already led to a
public debate when the CJI said the Act can't be applied to his
office, triggering a response from the Lok Sabha Speaker who said it
should be applicable to all Constitutional offices, including his own.
Mr Chatterjee further reasoned that the RTI Act was enacted to
implement what has had already been enshrined in the Constitution and
that 'all organs of the Constitution' should abide by that principle.
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