LAHORE: The Punjab Information Commission on Tuesday asked the Lahore High Court (LHC) registrar to provide information to an applicant about the monthly salary and fringe benefits of the chief justice and appoint information officer(s) so as to regularly deal with applications seeking information about the high court.

The complainant, Sarmad Ali of Lahore, had maintained that the registrar had not provided him the piece of information within the time period prescribed in the Punjab Transparency and Right to Information Act 2013.

The information sought by the petitioner through an application included the total monthly income of the LHC chief justice, and his allowances.

Also seeks posting of information officers

Responding to the complaint, the commission had on Nov 17, 2016, called upon the registrar to either transfer the application of the complainant to the Public Information Officer (PIO) of the LHC as per the Act, or himself decide it for being a deemed PIO.

He was further asked to ensure implementation of different sections of the Act, and establish an effective mechanism to efficiently respond to all pending or future requests received under it (the law).

In particular, he was asked that, if his office had not designated one or more PIOs, he should do so immediately and forward their (PIOs) names and contact details to the commission forthwith, also posting the details on the LHC website.

The LHC deputy registrar had in his response denied the receipt of any application from the complainant, according to the commission’s final verdict.

While disposing of the complaint on Tuesday, the commission maintained that the LHC is a public body in terms of section 2(h)(iv) of the Act. And, therefore, it is required to take steps to implement various provisions of the law regarding proactive disclosure, designation of PIOs, transfer of applications where required, and timely disposal of information requests.

“However, it appeared that the LHC has not as yet designated any officer as a PIO, despite the fact that section 7 requires it to be done within 60 days of the commencement of the law. Similarly, the commission has not yet been informed about any steps taken towards implementation of, among others, sections 4 & 8 of the law.

“As for the instant complaint is concerned, the requested information is of such a nature that it should have been proactively disclosed through the official website or other types of publications in accordance with section 4(g) of the Act. However, it has neither been proactively disclosed, nor the respondent has provided the same to the complainant even after a lapse of several months and despite the notices issued by the commission.

“The response of the deputy registrar to the effect that the application of the complainant had not been received by the respondent amounts to rejection of the information request on technical grounds, especially when copies of the application of the complainant were attached with the letters of the commission addressed to the respondent (registrar).

“Any office holder, who appreciates the importance of transparency and is working with a problem-solving approach, would focus on the substance of the matter, instead of delaying disclosure by relying upon technicalities.

“The Hon’ble Lahore High Court is the highest court of the largest province of our country with the mandate to administer justice and hold all other institutions to account in terms of their compliance to laws enacted by the legislature. It is, therefore, extremely important that it sets the highest standards of compliance with the Act and transparency in its administration, which others follow and get inspiration from.”

The commission called upon the registrar to provide the demanded information as soon as possible but not later than April 4. Immediate steps must also be taken to fulfill legal obligations as per, inter alia, sections 4, 7, 8 and 10 of the Act, especially in terms of proactive disclosure of salaries, allowances and other perks and privileges of all judges and staff on the LHC website, and designation of public information officers.

Published in Dawn, March 22nd, 2017