HC seeks info on confidential GOs

The Telangana High Court sought the state government’s response on the PIL charging the state government with wontedly and intentionally refusing to provide information to the public by hiding the availability of the Government Orders (GOs) on the Government Orders Issue Registrar’s official website (ts.goir.nic.in).

The Division Bench, comprising Chief Justice Raghavendra Singh Chauhan and Justice A. Abhishek Reddy, was dealing with a petition filed by Perala Shekar Rao, alias Shekarji, a social activist and MLA contestant from LB Nagar assembly constituency from the BJP.

The petitioner brought to the notice of the court that the state government had kept as many as 43,462 GOs in secret without uploading the details on the official website during the period June 2,

2014 to August 15, 2019. He also submitted that the hidden GOs were more than 40 percent of the 1,04,171 GOs issued by the Telangana government during the period.

Mr. Harinath Nunepally, counsel for the petitioner, told the court that the only reason for not disclosing the GOs’ names to the general public is to safeguard the political interests of the ruling party, rather than caring about the governance for the people.

He contended that the non-publication of the GOs on the official website and keeping them confidential was illegal, arbitrary and unconstitutional on the part of the government.

The petitioner informed about the GOs issued and being hidden from June 2,

2014, to August 15, 2019. The Court issued a notice to the chief secretary of state to respond and the case was adjourned for four weeks.