SC issued notice to Union Government, EC on petition seeking to bring political parties under RTI

July 8, 2024Judiciary

The Supreme Court of India on 7 July 2024 issued notices to the Union Government, Election Commission (EC) and six political parties and asked why it should not be brought within Right to Information (RTI) ambit to make them more accountable to public.

The six national parties involved are:

Indian National Congress (INC)

Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP)

Communist Party of India (M)

Communist Party of India (CPI)

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)

Background of the decision

The notice was issued by a three-judge bench of Chief Justice HL Dattu, Justice Arun Kumar Mishra and Justice Amitava Roy on a PIL filed by NGO Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).

The petitioner in the plea filed in May 2015 demanded to declare all national and regional political parties as public authorities and bring them under the ambit of RTI Act, 2005.

Moreover, the petitioner sought transparency and accountability in functioning of political parties. It also sought a direction that the parties should be asked to declare all donations, including those below 20000 rupees.

June 3 order of Central Information Commission

The Central Information Commission (CIC) in its detailed order of 3 June 2024 held that the six national parties have been substantially financed by the Central government, therefore, they are held to be public authorities under Section 2(h) of the RTI Act.

Also the critical role these political parties played in Indian democratic set-up and the nature of duties performed by them point towards their public character.