Thiruvananthapuram: In an important order, the State Information Commission has stated that the cabinet decisions of the Kerala government would come under the ambit of Right to Information (RTI) Act.
During the rule of the previous UDF government, an RTI request seeking information on cabinet decision had run into legal tussle.
The commission on Tuesday issued the order while settling that case.
The commission has also directed the government that the latter can consider publishing cabinet decisions online.
The move by the state information commission gains importance as the Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF government has done away with the practice of convening press conference after cabinet meeting.
The move comes after the general administration department of the government rejected an RTI petition that sought details of the decisions made by the previous Oommen Chandy cabinet towards the end of its tenure.
The general administration had rejected the request saying that it was impractical to classify decisions emerging from the cabinet as some of them come under the RTI Act and some do not.
Challenging the general administration department's order, RTI activist D.B. Binu approached the state information commission.
State information commissioner Vinson M. Paul overruled the general administration department's stance and said that the decisions should definitely be made public soon after the cabinet meeting. He also said that it is not right to deny information on cabinet decisions with fragile arguments.