SANJEEV M GORWADKAR Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) HEARD all the learned Counsel.

(2.) THIS is a petition seeking very innocuous relief that respondent No. 1, 2 and 5 namely the State Government, Director of Printing and Publication Department and Union of India should be directed to make available by publishing and printing adequate number of authenticated copies of the bare Acts, legislation, rules and other statutory instruments having force of law at a reasonable price to the public at large throughout the State. Prayer (b) is as follows:

(3.) THE petitioners are citizens of India and both are lawyers practising in this Court. The petitioners have contended that under Article 21 of the Constitution they have a right to know the law which governed them. They have right to get the information about the laws which enable them to effectively enjoy the right to live under Article 20 of the Constitution. According to the petitioners, such right puts obligation on respondent Nos. 1 to 5 to make adequate number of authenticated copies of bare Acts, legislation, rules and regulation etc. available not only to them but also all the three Benches of this Court functioning in the State as also the moffussil courts in the State of Maharashtra. Our attention is invited to A. D 1799 Regulation-T which annexed as Exhibit A to the petition. Para 1 of the said Regulation makes interesting reading which is as under: