Ludhiana, March 26 -- Amid backlash from legal activists and opposition parties over imposing a Rs.80 fee to download FIRs from the Saanjh portal, the Punjab government on Wednesday withdrew the controversial notification. HT was the first to report about the government's plan to impose a Rs.80 fee to download FIRs, on Wednesday. In a fresh notification, issued by the additional chief secretary, DK Tiwari of the department of good governance and information technology, said with the approval of the Punjab governor, no charges will be levied for downloading FIRs from the Sanjh Portal. The order, a copy of which is with HT, also clarified that applicants will not be charged for obtaining FIR copies from Sanjh Kendras. "The earlier notification imposing an Rs.80 service charge has been withdrawn with immediate effect," the notification further read. Earlier, the department of good governance and information technology had issued a notification to make FIR downloads chargeable starting March 23. Amid stiff opposition to the move, a public interest litigation (PIL) was filed in the Punjab and Haryana high court on Wednesday seeking the quashing of the notification. The PIL, filed by Abhishek Malhotra and one more lawyer of the high court, said thatthe policy monetises a fundamental and statutory right to access justice, creating barriers for economically weaker sections. Minister Aman Arora, who heads the department of good governance and information technology, said his department has only notified the decision; the move was initiated by the home department. According to the special director general of police (community affairs), Gurpreet Kaur Deo, "The decision is in line with government directions. The complainant can get a free copy from the police station, while online access is now chargeable." A fee of Rs.100 was also introduced for a copy of the daily dairy reports (DDR). The officials said that the state's Saanjh portal has recorded over 41.7 lakh FIR downloads till March 23. Nearly 60,000 FIRs are registered in the state annually. Activist and advocate Gagan Preet Singh termed the move 'shocking,' arguing that an FIR is a public document and not a commodity to be sold, while leader of opposition, Bajwa argued that it violates the spirit of the Supreme Court's landmark ruling in the Youth Bar Association of India case, which tied free, 24-hour digital access of FIRs to Article 21 (Right to Life and Liberty)....