Goa guv says he is not answerable to courts

Governor S S Sidhu who had been directed to appear in person before the Goa State Information Commission on Tuesday over an RTI case said the governor’s office enjoyed the privilege of constitutional immunity and he was therefore not answerable to the courts in matters related to the execution of his duties.

“The governor has chosen to exercise his rights under Article 361 of the Constitution and he, therefore, cannot be called before any court or authority,” his counsel Carlos Ferreira said.

He also argued that the governor in any case had not passed any orders in the RTI application and no allegations had been made personally against him.

Sidhu who had been issued an order by Chief Information Commissioner Motilal Kenny to be present at Tuesday’s hearing was represented by his lawyers. His special secretary N Radhakrishnan appeared before the Commission.

Raj Bhavan in Goa is currently playing host to President Pratibha Patil on a three-day visit to the state.

In the first case of its kind, the Goa governor was hauled up by the quasi-judicial body after Raj Bhavan turned down an activist lawyer’s request under the Right to Information Act on the argument that the governor was not a “public authority” and his office was beyond the purview of the RTI Act. 

Lawyer Aires Rodrigues who had filed an RTI application asking for details of a complaint against the state’s advocate general was told by Raj Bhavan that the governor was not covered by the RTI rules.

“Even the President of India complies with the RTI Act, why not the Governor of Goa?” Rodrigues told the Bench on Tuesday.

The lawyer who has initiated a string of public interest petitions wants strictures to be passed against the governor under Section 20 of the RTI Act. The next hearing of the case will take place on January 21.