Info panel seeks legal opinion on hearing cases

The Punjab Information Commission, which had adjourned cases, following a Supreme Court order making it mandatory for a retired apex court or high court judge to head the panel, on Monday decided not to take up cases till advised so by the Advocate General.

The commission, which had stopped hearing cases from Friday, met on Saturday — Chief Information Commissioner RI Singh chaired the meet attended by eight other members — and sent a letter to the AG to seek his legal opinion. The move came based on the opinion given by the legal adviser of the commission Puneet Sandhu.

The apex court order stated that the information commissions will work in benches of two members — a judicial member and an expert member. The judicial member can be a retired judge high court or SC judge or a lawyer with a minimum experience of 20 years practising law. Currently, there are no judicial members in the commission.

If the Supreme Court order is put in place, five members of the commission, including Singh, will lose their job.

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