The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Allahabad High Court registry to reply to a PIL challenging its RTI rules as unconstitutional.
A bench of Justices A K Patnaik and Swatanter Kumar asked the registry to respond on a plea by NGO, Common Cause, which has sought the quashing of Rules 3 to 5, 20 and 25 to 27 of the Allahabad High Court (Right to Information) Rules, 2006.
The petitioner NGO has also sought directions to the High Court of Allahabad and the subordinate courts within its jurisdiction to follow the Right to Information (Regulation of Fee and Cost) Rules 2006 framed by the central government.
Appearing for Common Cause, advocate Prashant Bhushan said the rules framed by the High Court on its administrative side not only “have the effect of abridging and infringing the right to information” but also “violate Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution”.