Quasi Judicial bodies in Himachal Pradesh

A quasi-judicial body is a non judicial body which can interpret law. It is an entity such as an arbitrator or tribunal board, generally of a public administrative agency, which has powers and procedures resembling those of a court of law or judge, and which is obliged to objectively determine facts and draw conclusions from them so as to provide the basis of an official action. Such actions are able to remedy a situation or impose legal penalties, and they may affect the legal rights, duties or privileges of specific parties.

Powers

Such bodies usually have powers of adjudication in such matters as:
• breach of discipline
• conduct rules
• trust in the matters of money or otherwise
Their powers are usually limited to a very specific area of expertise and authority, such as land use and zoning, financial markets, employment law, public standards, and/or a specific set of regulations of an agency.

Himachal Pradesh Lokayukta :

Lokayukta investigates cases of corruption, where sustained.recommend action.He is a great check on corruption, brings about transparency in the system, maikes administrative machinery citizen friendly. Its functions largely depend upon jurisdiction vested in him and facilities provided for taking cognizance of citizens' grievances promptly,dexterously and expeditiously through simple, informal mechanism devoid of technicalities.

Himachal Pradesh State Human Right Commission :

The Protection of Human Rights Act of 1993 provides for the creation of State Human Rights Commission at the state level. A State Human Rights Commission can inquire into violation of human rights related to subjects covered under state list and concurrent list in the seventh schedule of the Indian constitution.

Functions of the Commission:

According to the protection of Human Rights Act, 1993; below are the functions of State Human Rights Commission:
(a) Inquire suo motu or on a petition presented to it, by a victim, or any person on his be into complaint of violation of human rights or negligence in the prevention of such violation by a public servant.
(b) Intervene in any proceeding involving any allegation of violation of human rights before a Court with the approval of such Court.
(c) Visit any jail or any other institution under the control of the State Government where persons are detained to study the living conditions of the inmates and make recommendations thereon
(d) Review the safeguards provided by or under the constitution of any law for the time being in force for the protection of human rights and recommend measures for their effective implementation.
(e) Review the factors, including acts of terrorism that inhibit the enjoyment of human rights and recommend appropriate remedial measures.
(f) Undertake and promote research in the field of human rights.
(g) Spread human rights literacy among various sections of society and promote awareness of the safeguards available for the protection of these rights.
(h) Encourage the efforts of Non-Governmental organizations and institutions working in the field of human rights.
(j) Undertake such other functions as it may consider necessary for the promotion of human rights.

Working of the Commission

• The commission is vested with the power to regulate its own procedure.
• It has all the powers of a civil court and its proceedings have a judicial character.

• It may call for information or report from the state government or any other authority subordinate thereto.

It has the power to require any person subject to any privilege which may be claimed under any law for the time being in force, to furnish information on points or matters useful for, or relevant to the subject matter of inquiry. The commission can look into a matter within one year of its occurrence.

State Election Commission

The superintendent, direction and control of the preparation electoral roles for and conduct of , all elections to the Gram Panchayat and Zilla Pachayat shall be vested in the State Election Commission consisting of a State Election Commissioner to be appointed by the Governor.

The Key Functions of the Election Commission are as under :-

1. The Election Commission of state is considered the guardian of free and reasonable elections in state.
2. It issues the Model Code Of Conduct in every election for political parties and candidates , so that the decorum of democracy is maintained.
3. It regulates political parties and registers them for being eligible to contest elections.
4. It publishes the allowed limits of campaign expenditure per candidate to all the political parties and also monitors the same.
5. The political parties must submit their actual reports to the ECI for getting tax benefits on contributions.
6. It guarantees that all the political parties regularly submit their audited financial reports.

Other Powers handled by the Election Commission are as follows:-

1. The commission can repress the results of opinion polls if it deems such an action fit for the cause of democracy.
2. The commission can recommend for disqualification of members after the elections if it thinks they have violated certain guidelines.
3. In case , a candidate is found guilty of dishonest practices during the elections , the supreme court and High Courts consult the commission.
4. The commission can postpone candidates who fail to submit their election expenses accounts timely.

The Main Duties of Election Commission are:-

1. To supervise, direct, control and conduct all elections to parliament and state legislatures as also to the office of president and vice-president of India.
2. To set down general rules for elections.
3. To determine constituencies and to prepare Electoral Rolls.
4. To give credit to political parties.
5. To allot election symbols to different political parties and individual candidates.
6. To appoint tribunals for the decision of doubts and disputes arising out of or in connection with election to parliament and state legislatures.

The Himachal Pradesh State Information Commission

HPSIC was constituted by the State Government on 4th February, 2006 in exercise of powers conferred by sub section (1) of section 15 of the Right to Information Act, 2005. The Commission started functioning with effect from 1st March, 2006 with headquarters at Shimla.
The Powers and Functions of the Information Commission are enumerated under chapter 5 of the RTI Act .

1. Enquiry into Complaints

It shall be the duty of the Commission to receive and inquire into complaints from persons aggrieved by any of the reasons given under section 18 (1) of the Act. Where the Commission is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to inquire into the matter, it may initiate an inquiry thereof. While conducting an inquiry into a complaint, the Commission shall have the same powers as are vested in a civil court while trying a suit under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, in respect of the matters given under section 18 (3) of the Act. During an inquiry into a complaint under this Act, the Commission can examine any record to which the RTI Act applies which is under the control of the Public Authority.

2. Deciding 2nd Appeals

Section 19(3) of the RTI Act provides for 2nd appeal before the Central/State Information Commission. The 2nd appeal shall lie within 90 days from the date on which the decision should have been made by or was actually received from the first appellate authority. The Information Commission may admit the 2nd appeal after the expiry of the period of 90 days, if it is satisfied that the appellant was prevented by sufficient cause from filing the appeal in time. While making a decision, the State Information Commission has the power to require the Public Authority to comply with the Provisions of the RTI Act -
(a) by providing access to information
(b) by appointing the State Public Information Officer
(c) by publishing certain information or categories of information
(d) by making necessary changes to its practices in relation to the maintenance, management and destruction of records
(e) by enhancing the provision of training on the right to information for its officials
(f) by providing with an annual report in compliance with clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 4 of the Act.

In an appeal proceedings, the onus to prove that the denial of request was justified shall be on the Public Information Officer who denied the request . If the appeal relates to information of a 3rd party, the 3rd party shall be given a reasonable opportunity of being heard before a decision is made by the Information Commission.

3. Awarding Compensation

The RTI Act empowers the Information Commission to require the Public Authority to compensate the complainant for any loss or other detriment suffered.

4. Imposing Penalties

The State Information Commission has the power to impose penalty on the State Public Information Officer for the following defaults:
Where the State Public Information Officer has -
1. without reasonable cause refused to receive an application for information or has not furnished information within the specified time limit or
2. malafidely denied the request for information or
3. knowingly given incorrect, incomplete or misleading information or
4. destroyed information which was the subject of the request or
5. obstructed in any manner in furnishing the information.
The Penalty provided under section 20(1) of the RTI Act is Rs.250/- each day till the application is received or information is furnished. The total amount of such penalty shall not exceed twenty five thousand rupees.
Before imposing any penalty, the Commission shall give the State Information Officer a reasonable opportunity of being heard. The burden of proving that he acted reasonably and diligently shall be on the State Public Information Officer.

5. Recommending for disciplinary Action

Where the State Information Commission, at the time of deciding any complaint or appeal is of the opinion that the State Public Information Officer has, without any reasonable cause and persistently, failed to receive an application for information or has not furnished information within the time specified under sub-section (1) of section 7 or malafidely denied the request for information or knowingly given incorrect, incomplete or misleading information or destroyed information which was the subject of the request or obstructed in any manner in furnishing the information, the Commission can recommend for disciplinary action against the State Public Information Officer, under the service rules applicable to him under section 20(2) of the Act.