Appoint IIT to upload Acts on govt website: Bombay HC directs Maharashtra

The Bombay high court on Thursday directed the Maharashtra government to appoint Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in the city as an agency to submit a project report on uploading state Acts and amendments on the government website.

A bench, headed by Justice Abhay Oka, hearing a petition, also directed that the IIT should design a comprehensive programme to upload bare Acts on government website immediately after it is passed or an amendment is carried out.

The IIT has been asked to carry out the task as expeditiously as possible. The bench also directed that all the existing state Acts should be uploaded on government website in six months.

As per existing rules, the government has to invite tenders for carrying out a project costing over '3 lakh. However, in this case, the high court directed that the state can ignore the tender process and straight away appoint the IIT as the agency to submit a report on uploading Acts on its website. The high court also made it clear that in future when a new Act is framed or an amendment carried out in any Act, it should be uploaded on the website in two days.