New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Centre, the Election Commission and six national political parties to respond to a petition that sought to bring them under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

A public interest litigation (PIL) filed by lawyer Prashant Bhushan on behalf of the Association for Democratic Reforms requested these parties be made public authorities, accountable and transparent.

A bench headed by chief justice H.L. Dattu, justices Arun Mishra and Amitava Roy asked the Centre and others to respond within six weeks.

Bhushan told the court that the legislature was ultimately controlled by political parties, which enjoyed certain constitutional powers like provisions related to defection and tax exemptions.

He said the Central Information Commission had ruled that these parties would be public authorities, but the order was not implemented.

The six national parties include Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Bahujan Samaj Party, the Community Party of India and the Communist Party of India (Marxist).