Bar associations fall under ambit of RTI Act, rules state information panel in Kerala
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.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Justice Janarthanam, a quota warrior, is no more
Chennai: Former judge of Madras high court , Justice M S Janarthanam, known for his work on the reservation front and who had studied and recommended a 3% internal reservation for arunthathiyars among the Scheduled Castes, passed away on Friday. He was 89. Justice Janarthanam served in the high court from 1988 to 1998. He was appointed Tamil Nadu Backward Class Commission chairman in 2006 and served in that role until 2015. Chief minister M K Stalin said Justice Janarthanam would be accorded state honours and that he would personally attend the last rites, in recognition of the judge's contribution to social justice. "It was based on his recommendation that reservation was implemented for Muslims, Christians, and arunthathiyars in Tamil Nadu," Stalin said in a condolence message. Justice Janarthanam headed the state commission for backward classes and also was the one-man commission constituted by then chief minister, M Karunanidhi, to study the educational, social, and economic backwardness of the arunthathiyar community, which was part of the Scheduled Caste category. In Aug 2024, a seven-judge bench of Supreme Court, headed by then Chief Justice of India, Justice D Y Chandrachud, upheld the validity of the Tamil Nadu Arunthathiyars Reservation Act, 2009. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Pinga-Pinga e HBP? Tome isso 1x ao dia se tem mais de 40 anos Portal Saúde do Homem Clique aqui Undo The Tamil Nadu govt had passed the Act based on the recommendation of the commission headed by Justice Janarthanam, providing a 3% internal reservation to the arunthathiyar community within the 18% quota provided for the Scheduled Caste in 2008. The Act brought together seven scheduled castes (SCs) — arunthathiyar, chakkiliyar, madari, madiga, pagadai, thoti, and adi andhra — as arunthathiyars for the sake of reservation on a preferential basis. Justice Janarthanam also served as president of the Tamil Nadu State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission. "He was a firm but gentle human being. I have been associated with him since he was a registrar in Madras high court before his elevation as a judge of the court. His demise is a loss to the legal fraternity," advocate-general P S Raman said. Describing him as a shining example of the chairman of the Tamil Nadu Backward Classes Commission, PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss said Justice Janarthanam recommended a 10.5% reservation for vanniyars. CPM state secretary P Shanmugam said: "The passing of such a figure is a great loss to both the judiciary and democratic movements fighting for social justice." Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Eid wishes , messages , and quotes !
The Hindu
6 hours ago
- The Hindu
Minister for denotifying forest land granted before notifying under Section 4 of forest Act
Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre has said the State government will submit a proposal to the Centre and seek denotification of land parcles that were granted for cultivation before they were notified as per Section 4 of the Karnataka Forest Act, 1963. The Minister gave this assurance to elected representatives of the Chikkamagaluru district who met him in Bengaluru on Friday. This measure will help those people who have been cultivating such land for several decades without the rights of ownership. Preliminary step The elected representatives of Chikkamagaluru raised the issue of people who have been cultivating land parcels notified under Section 4. The State government has the power to notify a piece of land as per Section 4 of the Act, which is the preliminary step in declaring a reserved forest. Over the decades, vast tracts of land across the State, including Chikkamagaluru, have been notified under Section 4, but never declared as a reserved forest as per Section 17 of the Act, which is the final step. People who were granted such land before the notification have either cultivated or built houses there over the decades with no rights over the properties. Responding to their pleas, the Minister said the government would approach the Supreme Court with a plea as well in this regard. In several cases, land had been notified under Section 4 of the Act but remained at that stage without completing the process with a final notification as per Section 17. 'Approaching the Centre and the Supreme Court is inevitable, as denotifying such land is impossible as per the provisions of the Forest Conservation Act, 1980,' the Minister said. Buffer zone The elected representatives also opposed notifying 10 km around the sloth bear sanctuary in Arsikere taluk as a buffer zone. The residents of villages in Chikkagmaluru district would be affected by the move, they argued. The Minister said a proposal had been submitted to reduce it to 1 km and the issue would be resolved soon. Legislators T.D. Raje Gowda, H.D. Thammaiah, Nayana Motamma, K.S. Anand, G.H. Srinivas, and senior officers of the Forest Department and Chikkamagluru district administration were present at the meeting.
Time of India
8 hours ago
- Time of India
Delhi court sets new date to begin hearing arguments in Delhi riots conspiracy case
New Delhi: A Delhi court on Friday set July 2 as the new date to begin hearing arguments on charges in the Delhi riots case on the larger conspiracy. Police, through special public prosecutor Amit Prasad, told the court of additional sessions judge Lalit Kumar that it would take five hours daily for at least five days to conclude its arguments. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The court is set to hear the arguments afresh after the transfer of ASJ Sameer Bajpai, who was hearing the case earlier last month. Prasad submitted that he would take four to five hours daily for at least five days to conclude his arguments. The court also accepted his suggestion to begin the arguments after the summer vacation so that continuity is not disturbed. The special public prosecutors and counsel for the accused said that since the chargesheet contains over 17,000 pages and it would take considerable time, the arguments should be after summer vacation for the sake of continuity. Advocate Adit S Pujari, appearing for Natasha Narwal and Devangana Kalita, submitted that there is an order of Delhi High Court of Sept 2024 which has directed that the trial court will hear the arguments, but a final order is not to be passed till the disposal of the petition. Pujari also submitted that he would argue at the end, as his two petitions are pending before Delhi High Court. Advocate Rajat Kumar, appearing for Abdul Khalid Saifi, submitted that there is a consensus that other counsel will start arguments after submission by advocate Rajiv Mohan, counsel for Tahir Hussain. On June 2, the court sought the schedule of arguments of all prosecutors and advocates of the accused to expedite the arguments on charges. The court noted that the matter was scheduled for arguments on charges and the special public prosecutor informed the court about the prosecution and five accused persons completing their arguments on charge. Twenty people, including activists Sharjeel Imam, Khalid Saifi, and former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor Tahir Hussain, were booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and several provisions of the Indian Penal Code for allegedly being the "masterminds" of the Feb 2020 communal riots that left 53 people dead and more than 700 injured.
