Central Information Commission issues notices to Amit Shah and Sonia Gandhi

Hyderabad: The Central Information Commission (CIC) has issued notices to BJP president Amit Shah, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and the heads of four other political parties asking why an inquiry should not be instituted for non-compliance of its order to implement the Right To Information (RTI) Act.

Apart from the Congress, the notices were sent to the NCP, CPI, CPM and the BSP. The Central Information Commission had declared the six parties as public authorities, bringing them under the ambit of the Right to Information Act as they had in part used government resources.

The parties had to appoint an information officer, among other things.
None of the political parties had filed an appeal, but failed to comply with the order seven months. The CIC issued a showcause notices in February and March.

“Therefore, a notice is issued to show cause within four weeks as to why an inquiry should not be initiated in the matter of non-compliance of the Commission's order dated June 3, 2013, under Section 18 of the RTI Act, 2005... Take further notice that if you fail to respond within prescribed time, the matter will be processed on the strength of material on record, in accordance with law,” the notice said.