The Supreme Court yesterday issued notices to the Centre, Election Commission and six political parties, including BJP and Congress, on a plea to declare all national and regional political parties public authorities to bring them under the ambit of RTI Act.
A bench headed by Chief Justice HL Dattu, issued the notices on the PIL filed by an NGO, Association for Democratic Reforms, which has sought transparency and accountability in functioning of political parties.Lawyer Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the NGO, contended that political parties were public authorities and hence amenable to the RTI Act.
The petition also sought a direction that the parties be asked to declare all donations, including those below 20,000 rupees. The Central Information Commission, in its detailed order, had held that political parties were public authorities and hence should disclose the information under RTI Act.
