THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Bar associations in Kerala will come under the ambit of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, the State Information Commission has ruled.
State Information Commissioner Sreekumar M issued the ruling on a petition filed by Adv T K Sathyanathan against the Kozhikode Bar Association, after the latter refused to respond to his RTI query. Sathyanathan alleged the association denied reply on the grounds that they were not covered by the RTI Act.
The Kozhikode district collector informed the commission that the association was functioning rent-free in a government-owned building located on government land. The commission then observed that this could be construed as indirect funding by the government and therefore the bar association comes under the ambit of Section 2 (h) of the RTI Act, 2005, and becomes a public body.
The commission observed that bar associations in Kerala, which are thus part of the judiciary and operate through indirect appropriation of public property, are covered by sections 2 (h) (d) and 2 (h) (ii) of the RTI Act, 2005.
The commission has asked the Kozhikode Bar Association to provide an explanation within 15 days so as not to attract penalty as per Section 20 (1) of the RTI Act for not providing a timely reply to the petitioner.
The commission observed that the associations have to function with the transparency and accountability expected from a public institution.