Access to information 'bulwark against corruption'

Justice Minallah says SC budget is a matter of interest to citizens

ISLAMABAD:

Supreme Court Justice Athar Minallah has said that the right to information is a bulwark against corruption and that this law should be strictly enforced, stressing that it is unthinkable that the apex court will infringe upon citizens' fundamental rights.

Justice Minallah issued his additional note to the judgment issued in the case of access to information in the Supreme Court. According to the additional note, Justice Minallah agreed with the ruling of former chief justice Qazi Faez Isa on the matter.

The additional note has been penned in Urdu and uploaded on the Supreme Court website on Wednesday. The judge noted that Article 8 of the Constitution prevented the state from enacting legislation that abrogated or restricted fundamental rights.

"It is true that the exercise of the fundamental right under Article 19A is subject to appropriate restrictions, but the term reasonable restrictions does not empower parliament to limit the scope of this constitutional right," he said. The note warned that if the people thought that the defenders of rights were involved in limiting their own rights, they would lose confidence and "if the public trust is lost, the independence of the judiciary will be weakened".

He stated that the court did not have the sword nor any control over a treasure. The Supreme Court draws strength from people's trust in it. He also said that the Supreme Court's budget was a matter of interest to citizens; therefore, there should be no need to file an application to get that information.