SC makes staff information public.

ISLAMABAD -- The apex court has ordered its registrar to release information about the court staff under the Right of Access to Information (RTI) Act, 2017 to a citizen, ruling that the Supreme Court is not excluded from the purview of the Article 19A of the Constitution.

Unveiling its reserved judgment on Monday, the court agreed with the attorney general for Pakistan (AGP) that the RTI Act, 2017, did not apply to the Supreme Court but stated that 'information of 'public importance' can be sought thereunder [Article 19A]'.

The court announced the ruling on a petition, challenging a decision of the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

The IHC had accepted the SC registrar's writ petition against an order of the Pakistan Information Commission's (PIC) that on July 12, 2021 directed the registrar to share with the appellant information about the SC staff.

"The question of whether the petitioner can seek information under Article 19A of the Constitution still needs consideration. The Supreme Court is not excluded from the purview of Article 19A of the Constitution, and information of 'public importance' can be sought thereunder,' said the 10-page judgment, authored by Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa.

'It now needs consideration as to what constitutes 'public importance'. The phrase 'public importance' is mentioned in a number of places in the Constitution but it does not define it. The phrase, however, has been interpreted by this court," it added.

The court, however, stressed that the appeal preferred by the petitioner before the PIC was not maintainable and to such an extent, a single-member bench of the IHC had correctly determined the matter.

The order said that Article 19A envisages the placement of reasonable restrictions on the provision of information, but refusing to provide the information is to be justified by the person, authority or institution withholding it.

'In the present case, there is no reason why the information sought by the petitioner should not be provided, nor can the provision of such information be categorised as being contrary to the public interest. Consequently, the information sought by the petitioner should have been provided to him.'

The court said what previously might have been on a need-to-know basis, the Article 19A of the Constitution had transformed it into a right-to-know. "The burden has shifted from those seeking information to those who want to conceal it,' the order continued.

'Access to information...