Political parties out of RTI Act purview: EC

New Delhi, May 28: Order runs counter to CIC’s directive
Political parties are out of the purview of the Right to Information Act, the Election Commission has said in an order, which is contrary to the directive of the Central Information Commission (CIC) to bring six national parties under the law.

Donations collected

The order came on the appeal of an RTI applicant seeking to know the donations collected by the six national parties which were brought under the ambit of the law by the CIC in June 2013.

“Information is not available... This is related to political parties and they are out of the purview of the RTI Act. They may submit information on donation/amount collected through electoral bonds in their contribution report for 2017-18 in the ECI, for which the due date is September 30,” the order said, citing the comment of the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO).

The Pune-based Vihar Dhurve had sought to know the details of donations collected by the BJP, the Congress, the BSP, the NCP, the CPI and the CPI(M) and the Samajwadi Party through the newly introduced electoral bonds.

The First Appellate Authority in the Election Commission, K.F. Wilfred, the Senior Principal Secretary, wrote in the order that he agreed with the view taken by the CPIO.

Full bench

Six of the seven parties — the BJP, the Congress, the BSP, the NCP, the CPI and the CPI(M) — for which information was sought were brought under the RTI Act by a full Bench of the CIC on June 3, 2013.

The order has not been challenged in higher courts, but the parties have refused to entertain RTI applications. Several activists have approached the SC for their non-compliance with the CIC’s order, and the matter is pending.

As for the RTI Act, the CIC is the only appellate authority, which may declare a body public authority if it is convinced that it meets the criteria for being under the Act.