Legal hurdle? Punjab information act challenged

LHC chief justice will take up the petition on Tuesday

LAHORE: The Punjab Information and Transparency Act (PITA) has been challenged before the Lahore High Court on claims that the law itself is a hurdle in right to information.

On Saturday, an advocate filed the petition stating access to information was the basic constitutional right of every citizen.

The petitioner stated that PITA itself had become a hurdle in the way of information.Under this act, he contended, a government officer could be fined Rs50,000 or his salary of two months deducted for not providing information to public.

This punishment is insufficient and this act might not be implemented in true spirit, he added. Citing an example, the lawyer claimed he had not been given information about Lahore Metro’s Orange Line project, its contracts or loans taken from China despite the lapse of eight months.

He requested the court to declare the law as unconstitutional and to issue instructions to the government to make an effective law for provision of information to people.

LHC Chief Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah will take up the petition on Tuesday.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 20^th, 2016.