Cannot come under ambit of RTI Act, says Goa Raj Bhavan

Panaji, July 11 (IANS) The Raj Bhavan in Goa on Wednesday told the State Information Commission that the office of the Governor does not come under the ambit of "public authority" and therefore the Raj Bhavan is outside the purview of the Right to Information Act.

In a 15-page affidavit submitted to the Commission, Rupesh Thakur, Secretary to the Governor, said the Governor enjoys immunity under Article 361 of the Indian Constitution and therefore is not answerable to any Court or the Commission.

"The Governor is the appointing authority of the State Information Commissioners and is also vested with the power to recommend their removal," the affidavit also stated.

The affidavit was filed after a city-based lawyer-activist Aires Rodrigues in a complaint to the Commission had said that since the Goa Raj Bhavan was a public authority, the institution's failure to appoint a Public Information Officer was "illegal, mala fide and without reasonable cause".

The next hearing in the case has been set for July 26.

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