Kochi: The Kerala High Court has stayed the State Information Commission's order making all decisions, which are finalised in the cabinet, available to the public under the RTI Act.
Justice P.B. Suresh Kumar imposed the stay after the chief secretary moved the court challenging the SIC decision. The state sought a directive to declare that the chief secretary, state public information officer and joint secretary, general administration (SC) department, are not liable to provide the decisions of the council of ministers under the Right to Information Act. It also sought a declaration that the information under the Act as regards the decision of the council of ministers need to be provided only by the concerned administrative departments and that too only after the matter is complete or over.
The state argued that section 8(1) in the Right to Information Act, 2005 stipulates that the cabinet papers, including records of deliberations of the council of ministers, shall be made public after the decision has been taken, and the matter is complete or over.
The government submitted that it has no intention to thwart the right of the public to important information. The government or the public information officer in the office of the chief secretary is not against the disclosure of the cabinet decision or any such information.
Though the custodian of the agenda, minutes and decision of the meeting of the council of ministers is the chief secretary, the materials put forth to arrive at a decision originates from the department concerned and therefore, the completion of matters can be decided only at the department level.
Hence all the details can be provided only by the public information officers of the department concerned and not by the public information officer in the office of chief secretary.
The government has already issued instructions to all the departments in respect of simultaneous publication of orders issued in pursuant to the cabinet decision in the government portal, the state argued.
