Tanya Gupta
Published on: March 19, 2022 at 20:29 IST
In the Case of Mohammad Tuyyab Malik and Another Petitioner Present in Person Vs. Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir, the Chief Secretary of the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir was directed by the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court related to the Establishment of the Right to Information (RTI) Portal within 3 Months for the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
An Order was issued by the Bench of Chief Justice Pankaj Mithal and Justice Sindhu Sharma on Mohammad Khurram Qureshi and Mohammad Tuyyab Malik’s Public Interest Litigation (PIL) Plea seeking the direction of Courts concerning the Establishment of an Online Portal for Right to Information.
Submissions Made by the Petitioners
The Petitioners argued about the Importance of the Establishment of the Right to Information Portal. An Application can be filed by any Citizen who is seeking to collect Information from various Government Departments.
A Request has already been made by the Central Government to all the State Governments to establish a Portal that enable Citizens to File an Application for collecting Information, the Petitioners further submitted.
As per the Petitioners, the essential Source Codes have already been developed by the Central Government to furnish the requisite Technical Support.
The Petitioners called attention to one of the most Important Provisions that is not present under the existing system of the Right to Information Act i.e., Section 7(1), “Information sought for concerns the Life or Liberty of a person, the same shall be provided within 48 Hours of the Receipt of the Request.”
The Petitioners further mentioned the various Representations that they have made regarding this Establishment but no Action has been taken yet.
The last Representation submitted in this regard was submitted to the Chief Secretary, Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir in December 2021.
The Court while Disposing of the Petition directed the Chief Secretary to take a call on this Matter and Plan on it Expeditiously within 3 Months.
Also Read: What is Right to Information?