IC recuses self from hearing plea against political parties

In a surprising move, Information Commissioner Bimal Julka has recused himself from the Central Information Commission (CIC) full bench hearing a complaint against political parties for defying the RTI Act.
The move has brought the proceedings to a stop as the bench cannot function till Julka's replacement is announced by Chief Information Commissioner R K Mathur, who is the administrative head of the CIC.
The last hearing in the case with Julka on board took place on December 8, 2016, but since then the case has been in limbo.
The full bench comprised Information Commissioners Sridhar Acharyulu, Bimal Julka and Sudhir Bhargava.

"The workload is heavy, so I have recused myself from the bench," Julka told PTI over phone.
The bench is hearing a complaint by activist R K Jain alleging that his queries to political parties seeking details of donations, finances, internal elections, etc. Were not responded to, which is a violation of the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

In his complaint, Jain has alleged that this was a violation of an earlier full bench order of the Commission which had declared the Congress and five other national parties including the BJP, CPI, CPI-M, NCP and the BSP as public authorities making them answerable under the RTI Act.

A full bench of the Commission headed by the then Chief Information Commissioner, Satyananda Mishra, had on June 3, 2013 brought six national parties -- the Congress, BJP, NCP, BSP, CPI and the CPI-M -- under the ambit of the RTI Act as they are substantially funded by the government in the form of subsidies, cheap land for offices and tax concessions.
The order has neither been stayed nor set aside by any of the high courts or the Supreme Court, Jain said.