RTI activist seeks Lord Krishna’s birth certificate from Mathura authorities 

RTI activist Jainendra Kumar Gendle from Bilaspur in Chattisgarh had raised the matter after Lord Krishna’s birthday, known as Janmashtami, was celebrated last month. lucknow Updated: Oct 04, 2018 13:48 IST



HT Correspondent
Hindustan Times, Lucknow


Children dressed as Lord Krishna and Radha take part in a procession during celebrations of Janmashtami festival. (AFP)

An RTI activist has sought the birth certificate of Lord Krishna and proof of him being God from authorities in Mathura.

Public information officer and additional district magistrate (law and order) Ramesh Chand has termed the query “ridiculous”, but forwarded it to the municipal commissioner of Mathura, who keeps records of births and deaths.

RTI activist Jainendra Kumar Gendle from Bilaspur in Chattisgarh had raised the matter after Lord Krishna’s birthday, known as Janmashtami, was celebrated last month.

Mathura is known to be the birthplace of Lord Krishna, who is believed to have taken birth in ‘Dwapar Yug’ at a place now worshipped as Sri Krishna Janambhoomi.

The RTI application accompanied by postal order was received in mid-September.

“It was ridiculous query to make as such issues are of faith and cannot be answered in the manner as asked for,” district magistrate Chand said.

“These are silly things done to attain cheap popularity or to create nuisance and should be dismissed before they hurt sentiments,” said a seer in Vrindavan who did not want to be named.

RTI query to provide Lord Krishna’s birth certificate

TNN | Oct 4, 2018, 11.25 AM IST
 

AGRA: In an unusual RTI, a Chhattisgarh resident has requested the Mathura district authorities to provide the copy of Lord Krishna’s birth certificate along with the proof that Krishna was a God. The query has left officials flummoxed regarding the kind of information that should be provided to the applicant.

Talking to TOI, public information officer, Ramesh Chandra, said, “It is difficult to find answers to questions that are related to public faith and personal beliefs. We are confused what to do with the query and do not know how to respond to it. We can only provide information that is available to us in the system and cannot create any.”

In the RTI application, Jainendra Kumar Gendle, a resident of Bilaspur district, has stated, “The government of India has declared September 3 as a national holiday on account of Krishna Janmashtami. Please provide a copy of Lord Krishna’s birth certificate to prove that he was born on this day in Mathura.”

Reacting to the query, Vrindavan priest Rasiya said, “According to the Hindu calendar, Lord Krishna was born on the eighth day of Krishna Paksha in Bhadra month.”

Probe panel incurred Rs. 2.17 cr. expenditure’

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

MADURAI, OCTOBER 04, 2018 00:00 IST


RTI reply shows Singaravelu Commission spent Rs. 1.98 crore on salaries of eight staff

The Justice S. R. Singaravelu Commission that was constituted in 2013 to probe the death of Dalit youth Illavarasan in Dharmapuri had incurred an expenditure of Rs. 2.17 crore towards salaries and other expenses, according to a response obtained under the Right To Information (RTI) Act.

In August 2018, the Justice Singaravelu Commission submitted its findings to the State government.

The Commission had conducted several sittings, from November 2013, received petitions and counter petitions from different sections of the community. Many activists, police and lawyers too submitted their reports based on fact-finding teams.

A Kathir, executive director of the Madurai-based civil rights organisation ‘Evidence’, contended that when Illavarasan’s family continued to live in poverty and looked for assistance from the government, it was a mockery of sorts that the Commission had incurred an expenditure of Rs. 2.17 crore.

He said since 1991, the State government had appointed as many as 45 Commissions, but nothing tangible had come out in favour of the victims. As the governments formed judicial commissions, the issue could not be taken to the courts, he noted.

The RTI reply showed that about eight staff, who assisted the Commission, including a secretary, two office assistants and two drivers had incurred Rs. 1.98 crore by way of salaries and other expenses accounted for Rs. 17 lakh.

The High Court had pointed out the wasteful expenditure, the role and functioning of such judicial Commissions over a recent case related to the construction of Secretariat complex in Chennai, Mr. Kathir said.

Uttarakhand RTI applicant told to pay Rs 1.49 lakh as cost of over 73k printouts

After an activist filed an application under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, the Haldwani Municipal Corporation has asked him to pay Rs 1.49 lakh as the cost of printoutsDEHRADUN Updated: Sep 16, 2018 06:00 IST

Abhinav Madhwal 

Hindustan Times, Haldwani

Hemant Gauniya had filed the Right to Information application on August 28, seeking information on municipal tax defaulters and their addresses, and the action taken by the civic body against them.(HT Photo)

After an activist filed an application under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, the Haldwani Municipal Corporation has asked him to pay Rs 1.49 lakh as the cost of printouts.

Hemant Gauniya had filed the Right to Information application on August 28, seeking information on municipal tax defaulters and their addresses, and the action taken by the civic body against them.

He also sought details about how many shopkeepers have not paid rentals to the municipal corporation and what action had been taken.

The corporation, in a letter written on September 7, sought Rs 147,938 from Gauniya as the printout cost for 73,969 pages at the rate of Rs 2 per page.

The total cost comes to Rs 149,288 as the information involves 135 full-size papers whose printing cost is more, corporation officials said.

“I was shocked at the exorbitant amount asked for; I think that this is a ploy to dissuade me from seeking any information in future,” Gauniya said, adding that he would not be able to give the amount for the printouts. “Presently there is no provision for giving information in pen drive or CD; digitised data is not available now,” he said.

Assistant municipal commissioner VS Chauhan said, “Gauniya can seek any important information by coming to my office. But the government has laid down the price for each page of information sought under the Right to Information Act. The cost of around 74,000 pages would be close to Rs 1.5 lakh.”

Gauniya has earlier filed Right to Information applications seeking information on those who have not paid dues to the Haldwani unit of the Uttarakhand Power Corporation and the Payjal Sansthan.

He has lodged complaints on the chief minister’s portal, leading to action by the authorities on power cuts, electric transformer repair, and traffic management.

'7 கேள்விக்கு பதில் தர 2.53 லட்சம் ரூபாய் தா'

Added : ஜூலை 17, 2018 00:41

சத்தியமங்கலம் : தகவல் உரிமை சட்டத்தில், ஏழு கேள்விகளுக்கு பதில் தர, 2.53 லட்சம் ரூபாய் கேட்டதால், கேள்வி கேட்டவர் அதிர்ச்சி அடைந்தார்.

ஈரோடு மாவட்டம், இருட்டிபாளையம் கிராமத்தைச் சேர்ந்தவர் காளியப்பன், 30; விவசாயி, இவர், 2015ல் இருட்டிபாளையம் தொடக்க வேளாண் கூட்டுறவு கடன் சங்கத்தில், தகவல் அறியும் உரிமைச் சட்டத்தில், சில தகவல்களை கேட்டு விண்ணப்பித்தார். 30 நாட்களுக்குள் பதில் வராததால், மேல்முறையீடு செய்தார். இதையடுத்து, கூட்டுறவு சங்க துணை பதிவாளர் அழகிரி, 'எட்டு கேள்விகளில், ஏழு கேள்விகளுக்கு தகவல் வேண்டும் என்றால், இரண்டு லட்சத்து, 53 ஆயிரத்து, 100 ரூபாய் செலவாகும். 'டிடி'யாக அனுப்பினால், மேற்குறித்த புள்ளி விபரங்கள் கொடுக்கப்படும்' என, பதில் அளித்துள்ளார்.

இதனால், காளியப்பன் அதிர்ச்சி அடைந்தார். அவர் கூறியதாவது: தகவல் சட்டத்தில் தகவல் தர, ஒரு பக்கத்துக்கு, இரண்டு ரூபாய் கட்டணமாக அரசு நிர்ணயித்துள்ளது. நான் கேட்ட தகவல், ஒரு லட்சத்து, 26 ஆயிரம் பக்கங்கள் வராது. அப்படியே வருவதென்றால், எத்தனை பக்கம் என தெளிவாக கூற வேண்டும். அதை விடுத்து, பணம் கேட்டு, தகவல் அறியும் உரிமை சட்டத்தை கேலிக்குரியதாக்கி உள்ளனர். இவ்வாறு அவர் கூறினார்.

Tamil Nadu Income Tax officer raids dictionaries to avoid RTI questions

The Income Tax officer of the Tiruchy Division turned to the Oxford and Cambridge dictionaries while responding to a RTI petition filed by Express seeking details about IT raids.

Published: 29th April 2018 02:13 AM | Last Updated: 29th April 2018 05:19 AM

Image used for representational purpose.

By Jose K Joseph
Express News Service

TIRUCHY: The Income Tax officer of the Tiruchy Division turned to the Oxford and Cambridge dictionaries while responding — or avoiding a response -- to a Right to Information (RTI) petition filed by Express seeking seeking details about IT raids conducted between December 1, 2016 to March 31, 2018 in the division.

“You have sought certain information in respect to income tax "Raids". Since the term ‘raid’ was not defined under the Income Tax Act 1961, the meaning of the ‘raid’ as defined in the Cambridge Dictionary and Oxford Dictionary respectively are given below.....,” said Central public information officer, Ganesh Kumar, who is also the I-T officer of Tiruchy.

According to Cambridge dictionary, the officer said, a raid is ‘a short sudden attack, usually by a small group of people, and also it is ‘an act of entering a place by force in order to steal from it.’ Meanwhile, the Oxford dictionary says the raid is ‘a rapid surprise attack on an enemy by troops, aircraft, or other armed forces.’ Then, he said, “.….no such activities of the similar nature have been carried out by Tiruchy office, hitherto, since the inception of this office.”

ஆர்.டி.ஐ., பெயரில் தொல்லை : அதிகாரிகள் பதிலால் சர்ச்சை

27.03.2018  dinamalar

திருப்பூர்,: ''அலுவலருக்கு தொல்லை தரும் நோக்கமே மனுவில் உள்ளது,'' என்று, ஆர்.டி.ஐ., கேள்விக்கு, திருப்பூர் மாநகராட்சி அதிகாரிகள் அளித்த பதில், சர்ச்சையை ஏற்படுத்தியுள்ளது.




தகவல் அறியும் உரிமை சட்டத்தின் கீழ், 'நாளைய திருப்பூர்' மக்கள் அமைப்பைச் சேர்ந்த சுந்தரபாண்டியன் என்பவர், திருப்பூர் மாநகராட்சி நிர்வாகத்திடம், சில கேள்விகளை கேட்டிருந்தார்.
அம்ரூத் திட்டத்தில் ஒதுக்கப்பட்ட நிதி, புதிதாக அமைக்கப்பட்ட சாலைகளின் விபரம், 2016க்கு

பின் கடை வாடகை உயர்த்தப்பட்டதற்கான அரசாணை நகல், கழிப்பறை மற்றும் பூங்கா விபரம் உட்பட,31 கேள்விகளை, கேட்டிருந்தார்.

இதற்கு, திருப்பூர் மாநகராட்சி செயற்பொறியாளர்கள் தமிழ்செல்வன், திருமுருகன் அளித்த பதில், அதிருப்தியை ஏற்படுத்தியுள்ளது. இருவரும், ஒரே பதிலை அளித்துள்ளனர். பதிலில் தெரிவித்திருப்பதாவது:இந்த மனுவில், தகவல் பெற வேண்டும் என்ற நோக்கத்தை விட, தகவல் அலுவலருக்கு தேவையற்ற தொல்லை தர வேண்டும் என்ற நோக்கமே மேலோங்கி உள்ளதுபொது அதிகார அமைப்பின் பணியாளர்கள், அவர்களின், 75 சதவீத நேரத்தை, இதுபோன்ற தகவல்களை சேகரிக்கவும், மனுதாரருக்கு வழங்கவுமே செலவிட .வேண்டியுள்ளது .இதுபோன்ற

Advertisement காட்சியை, நாடு காண விரும்பவில்லை. இவ்வாறு பதிலில் கூறப்பட்டுள்ளது.மனுதாரர், சுந்தரபாண்டியன், ''மக்களுக்காக உருவாக்கப்பட்ட ஆர்.டி.ஐ., சட்டத்தை, அதிகாரிகள் சிறிதும் மதிப்பதில்லை.
''திருப்பூர் மாநகராட்சி அதிகாரிகளின் பதில், அதிருப்தியளிக்கிறது. உரிய பதில் தராமல், சப்பைக்கட்டு கட்டியுள்ளனர். எனவே, மேல்முறையீடு செய்துள்ளேன்,'' என்றார்.

Can’t charge more than ₹50 for RTI info: SC

TIMES NEWS NETWORK   21.03.2018

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday fixed a ceiling of ₹50 for public bodies, including legislative assemblies and high courts, for providing information under the Right to Information Act.

The SC bench also ruled that the government bodies could not charge more than ₹5 per page for giving photocopies of documents sought under the act. It also ruled that public authorities could not force an RTI applicant to provide reason or motive for seeking information.

The court passed the order on a batch of petitions challenging the rules framed by different authorities.

Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the petitioners, told the bench that the Allahabad HC charged ₹500 per information under the RTI Act which was illegal and it was intended to discourage citizens from seeking information. He said as per the HC rule, an application for information should be for only one item, it should be accompanied by ₹500 by way of application fee and that the citizen should pay ₹15 for every page of information.

RTI Act won't prevail over Supreme Court rules: Delhi HC

By PTI  |   Published: 22nd November 2017 10:20 PM  |  

Last Updated: 22nd November 2017 10:20 PM  | |  

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has held that the Right To Information (RTI) Act would not override the Supreme Court Rules (SCR) when it comes to dissemination of information.

Justice Manmohan also observed that the RTI Act cannot be resorted to in case the information sought for is related to judicial function, which can be challenged by way of any legal proceeding.
"The SCR would be applicable with regard to the judicial functioning of the Supreme Court. Whereas for administrative functioning of the Supreme Court, RTI Act would be applicable and information could be provided under it.

"The dissemination of information under the SCR is part of the judicial function, exercise of which cannot be taken away by any statute. It is settled legal position that the legislature is not competent to take away the judicial powers of the court by statutory prohibition," the court said.
The court's order came on a plea by the Supreme Court of India, through its Registrar, who had challenged an May 2011 order of the Central Information Commission (CIC) directing the apex court to answer the queries of litigant R S Misra as to why his SLP was dismissed.

While setting aside the CIC order, the high court also deprecated the applicant's conduct of writing letter to apex court judges asking why his SLP, regarding termination of his services as a teacher, was dismissed.

Misra was holding the post of Postgraduate Teacher (Chemistry) in Kendriya Vidyalaya and his services were terminated by the Commissioner of KVS under Article 81(b) of the Education Code in November 2003.

He had challenged the termination of the Central Administrative Tribunal which was dismissed. His petition in the high court and appeal in the apex court also failed. The review petitions were also dismissed.

Thereafter, he sought information under the RTI as to why his SLP had been dismissed while contending that the same had been decided against the principles of natural justice.

On not receiving the information sought, he had moved the CIC which had directed the apex court's public information officer to answer the queries raised by him.

Setting aside the CIC order, the high court said "a judge speaks through his judgements or orders passed by him. A judge cannot be expected to give reasons other than those that have been enumerated in the judgement or order. If any party feels aggrieved by the order/judgement, the remedy available is to challenge the same by a legally permissible mode.

"No litigant can be allowed to seek information through an RTI application or a letter on the administrative side as to why and for what reasons the judge had come to a particular decision or conclusion. A judge is not bound to explain later on for what reasons he had come to such a conclusion".

It also said that the CIC should not have directed the petitioner to supply information without considering whether the queries raised were maintainable under the RTI Act.

In reply to RTI, residents near airport told not to ask ‘questions’

Shruti Suresh | TNN | Nov 22, 2017, 06:20 IST

 

CHENNAI: Anxious residents trying to get details of land acquisition for airport expansion are being made to run from pillar to post as the information sought by them through Right to Information (RTI) has either been redirected to other bodies or denied under the RTI Act, 2005.

Plots of land have been recognised at Kolapakkam, Manapakkam, Pallavaram Cantonment, Pozhichalur, Pammal and CowlBazaar for airport expansion but notification details except for Kolapakkam and Manpakkam are not available for public use.

"Residents are spending sleepless nights for not knowing if their land and property would be acquired. Federation of Pozhichalur Welfare Association had sent RTI appeal to various addressees - Kancheepuram collector, airport director, DGCA, state chief secretary among others — seeking information on the proposed land acquisition for the Chennai airport surrounding Pozhichalur and Cowl Bazaar. But we have not got replies from even a single body," said T Ravindranathan, a resident of Pozhichalur.

While the state government directed the RTI query to the transport department, the reply from the latter stated that information would not be provided under section 2(f) of the RTI Act, 2005. According to the act, a PIO is expected to provide 'information' as definedunder section 2(f) of the RTI Act and not answer questions of the applicant.

The RTI request to Airports Authority of India directed the residents to seek a response from the special district revenue officer (land acquisition) of Chennai Airport Expansion Scheme in Sriperumbudur.

"Instead of themselves redirecting theRTI query to the concerned body, they are sending an RTI reply to us to direct the query," added Ravindranthan.

"Instead of working for the public, the government is making lives difficult for the common man. We have lived in this area for years and suddenly we know that it has been earmarked for airport expansion. But the government does not want to directly answer our queries or allay our fears regarding our property," said Suresh of State Bank colony.

RTI activist Siva Elango said questions like "What is the deadline set for the project?" or "How much money has been allocated?" will inevitably be asked followed by question marks.

RTI query reveals, Lotus is not India's national flower

Sanjay Pandey, Lucknow, DH News Service, Nov 7 2017, 23:28 IST

The query was submitted by a Lucknow-based RTI activist Aishwarya Parashar.

Contrary to popular perception Lotus is not the national flower of India. In fact, India does not have a national flower.

A response to a query under the Right to Information Act (RTI) by the Botanical Survey of India (BSI) has revealed that Lotus is not the national flower of the country.

The query was submitted by a Lucknow-based RTI activist Aishwarya Parashar.

Aishwarya, in her query to the BSI, which was under the Ministry of Environment and Forests, had sought to know if Lotus had been declared as the national flower of India.

In his response, Tapas Kumar Ghosh, a junior administrative officer and CPIO of the BSI, said that his organisation had not declared any flower as the national flower.

''The BSI has never declared any flower as the national flower of India," Ghosh said in his response.

Aishwarya, a class XI student at a school here, said that the response proved that the information on the Government of India website that Lotus was the national flower was ''incorrect''.

''Since my childhood, I have been told like others that Lotus is our national flower...I preferred the RTI query out of my curiosity to know the truth,'' she told DH.

She said that the government must either officially declare Lotus as the national flower or remove the incorrect information from its website to clear the confusion.

Aishwarya plans to write a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting him to take steps to remove the confusion.

SC students wait for scholarships from 2013: RTI reply

Siddharth Prabhakar| TNN | Updated: Nov 7, 2017, 00:16 IST

Chennai: In a move that has affected thousands of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (SC/ST) students pursuing higher education, the Tamil Nadu government has stopped giving them post-matric to take up distance education courses offered by state universities for the past five years.

The Centre-sponsored scholarship provides financial assistance to SC/ST students to enable them to complete education.

The issue came to light when the Tamil Nadu Information Commission (TNIC) heard an appeal filed by an RTI applicant from Trichy, who was pursuing MBA in Periyar University via distance mode. He had applied for scholarship to be sanctioned by the Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Department, but did not receive the amounts due for 2013-14 and 2014-15. A later RTI filed with the department did not elicit any response, based on which he filed the second appeal with TNIC.

During the hearing in October, the department informed TNIC that around 50,000 applications from students of various universities were pending since 2012-13 and many universities had written regarding release of the dues. The public information officer of Adi Dravidar department told TNIC that 'the guidance of government had been sought for procedural difficulties'.

Prinicipal secretary of the department, K Manivasan IAS, told TOI that as per existing rules, distance education students were not eligible for the scholarship.

Enquiries by TOI revealed that the state government had not cleared the PM scholarship dues of University of Madras since 2010-11. For Annamalai University, a total of Rs 14.32 crore scholarship amount claimed for 23,000 students had been pending since 2012-13. A similar situation exists in other universities as well.

"We are not even being given user ID and password for uploading data pertaining to eligible students," said a senior official from a university.

RTI exposes university claims over diploma

Siddharth Prabhakar| TNN | Oct 18, 2017, 08:49 IST

CHENNAI: An inquiry by the Tamil Nadu State Information Commission (TNSIC) into a second appeal filed after an RTI application to Madurai Kamaraj University (MKU) has revealed that a post-graduate diploma course in environmental sanitation science offered by an affiliated institute has not been recognised by the government as being equivalent to `PG diploma in sanitary inspector'.

The recognition is necessary because the diploma is mandatory for appointment of sanitary inspectors in the government service, the inquiry by TNSIC has revealed.

The fee for the one-year course is `45,000, but due to lack of government approval, students have been forced to move high court, TNSIC noted. It has asked the registrar to examine if the institute offering this course comes under the category of `franchise institution' which has been banned by UGC.

The case came up after the applicant, MP Gopinath, filed RTIs with MKU seeking information relating to Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) institute, Kodaikanal, affiliated to MKU. He had sought details about the recognition accorded to the PG diploma course in Environmental Sanitation Science offered by the institute, which was advertised as being equivalent to `PG diploma in Sanitary Inspector' course offered by Gandhigram Rural University.

The applicant was unhappy with the details provided in the RTI and approached the commission.

The documents provided by the university to TNSIC states that the institute was started in 2010-11, but wrote to the university in November 2012 that `students passing out from the institute were not able to get government jobs in the absence of `Certification of Equivalence.' In 2013, the certificate was issued by the registrar of MKU, TNSIC notes in its order on October 5. However, the board of studies asked the vice-chancellor to address the government.

MKU has sent a letter, while the WASH institute has sent two letters to the municipal administration department pressing for the equivalence certificate in 2014, TNSIC noted in its order.

"It is possible that the students were not aware that the government approval was necessary. They may have been misguided by the equivalence certificate issued by the registrar, which would have only facilitated further admissions. The WASH institute has published on its website an assurance that the course has been certified by the Madurai Kamaraj University," the info commissioner said in the order.

A writ petition has also been filed by the alumni of WASH institute with the Madras high court seeking a declaration that the course is equivalent to the diploma required for the post of sanitary inspectors. It was disposed by the high court, with a direction to the competent authorities to take appropriate steps.

TNSIC has directed MKU to provide copies of all correspondences within the university pertaining to the case to the RTI applicant free of cost.

In shocking incident, Chennai RTI activist’s identity disclosed

By Samuel Merigala  |  Express News Service  |   Published: 11th October 2017 

CHENNAI: The Pallavaram municipality has revealed the identity of an RTI petitioner to the real estate company on whose construction project he sought details on. More shockingly, the senior officials of the company, along with local politicians, allegedly visited David Manohar’s house on Sunday “requesting” him to withdraw petition.

Manohar, a civic activist, had on July 22 filed the RTI application seeking details like the setback area and number of inspections conducted at an under-construction residential building in Chrompet. Even after 51 days, the details were not given to Manohar by the municipality and he filed a petition to the municipality’s commissioner K Shivakumar, who is the appellant authority.

But instead of giving the petitioner the information, the municipality’s Public Information Officer G Sivakumar on August 21 wrote a letter (copy of which seen by Express) to the construction company saying Manohar had sought such details, besides seeking their permission for disclosure.

Related Article
• Pallavaram civic body repeat offender on activist’s identity

On October 6, Manohar said he received a letter from the municipality — backdated to August 21 — that the information he sought was regarding a third party and would be given only if the party gives consent.
However, what the municipality did not tell him is that an official from ­the construction company would be visiting him along with a local politician.

“I was about to have lunch on Sunday and both of them knocked on my door. For two hours they pleaded with me to retract my RTI,” Manohar said. K Shivakumar refused to talk to Express, saying, “Let them take action if we have done anything wrong,” he said. Revealing the identity of an RTI petitioner is a violation of TN Govt Servants Code of Conduct. P6

CBI is not fully exempt from RTI Act, rules Delhi High Court

Provision can't be used to deny information related to corruption charges, other violations

Press Trust of India  |  New Delhi 

The CBI cannot claim absolute exemption from disclosing information pertaining to allegations of corruption and human rights violations held by it under the RTI Act, the Delhi High Court has held.

The CBI has been denying information citing Section 24 of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, which says that its provisions will not apply on intelligence and security organisations, which also include IB, RAW, NIA and the Enforcement Directorate.

The CBI was included in the list by the erstwhile UPA Government.

The Act however clearly states that the information pertaining to the allegations of corruption and human rights violations will not fall under the exemption given to these organisations under Section 24 of the RTI Act.

Hyderabad-based RTI activist C J Karira had sought information pertaining to corruption in several top offices of the country from the CBI, but the agency had said since it is exempted from the RTI Act, it will not share such records.

It had also said that the information on alleged corruption and human rights violations can only be disclosed if the allegations are against any official of the agency.

This was an incorrect interpretation, as the RTI Act dealt with information 'held or controlled' by a public authority and does not make any distinction if the allegations of corruption are against its employee or not, the CIC had noted.

In 2012, then Chief Information Commissioner Satyananda Mishra had rejected the claims of the agency saying when it comes to disclosure of information on allegations of corruption, blanket immunity given to the agency from the RTI Act in Section 24 will not apply.

The agency had challenged it in the Delhi High Court.

In a judgement earlier this month, the High Court rejected the argument of the agency and said the allegations of corruption do not attract blanket exemption given to the agency in Section 24.

It has said the information pertaining to allegations of corruption and human rights violation can be denied only if they fell under Section 8(1) of the RTI Act which gives 10 grounds on which information can be denied.

"It is apparent from the plain reading of the first proviso to Section 24(1) of the Act that the information pertaining to allegations of corruption and human rights violations are not excluded from the purview," Justice Vibhu Bakhru pointed out.

The judge also cited a recent order of the High Court which dealt with the information sought from the Intelligence Bureau, also an exempted organisation under the RTI Act.

"The only conclusion that can be drawn is that, if the information sought pertains to allegations of corruption and human rights violations, it would be exempt from the exclusion clause, irrespective of the fact that the information pertains to the exempt intelligence and security organisations or not, or pertains to an officer of the Intelligence Bureau or not," the bench had said in the order.

Karira, who was present in the court, stated that the information sought by him has now become stale and he should be permitted to file a fresh application.

"In the event, such application is filed, the petitioner (the CBI) would examine the same. Although it would not be open for the petitioner to claim that information related to allegations of corruption in other organisation is exempt from disclosure, however, the petitioner would be liberty to examine whether the information sought by the petitioner is exempt under any clauses of Section 8(1) of the RTI Act," Justice Bakhru said.

He also upheld the cost put by the Central Information Commission to the CBI.

"The CIC had also awarded a cost of Rs 153 to the petitioner, which the petitioner has not paid as yet. The petitioner is directed to pay the sum along with interest at the rate of 12 per cent per annum from October 31, 2012 till the date of payment. Such payment as directed be paid within a period of four weeks from today," he said.

Right to information

• The CBI has been denying information citing Section 24 of the  RTI Act
• IB, RAW, NIA and the Enforcement Directorate are on the exempted list
• The CBI was included in the list by the erstwhile UPA government
• The Act clearly states the information pertaining to the allegations of corruption and human rights violations will not fall under Section 24
• RTI activist C J Karira had sought information pertaining to corruption, but the CBI declined to share it

சி.பி.ஐ.,க்கு விலக்கு ஆர்.டி.ஐ.,யில் கிடையாது'

பதிவு செய்த நாள்18செப்
2017
00:21


புதுடில்லி: 'ஊழல் குற்றச்சாட்டுகள், மனித உரிமை மீறல்கள் தொடர்பாக, தகவல் அறியும் உரிமை சட்டத்தில், சி.பி.ஐ.,க்கு முழு விலக்கு அளிக்க முடியாது' என, டில்லி உயர் நீதிமன்றம் கூறியுள்ளது.

முந்தைய, காங்., தலைமையிலான, ஐ.மு., கூட்டணி அரசு, ஐ.பி., - 'ரா' - என்.ஐ.ஏ., - சி.பி.ஐ., உள்ளிட்ட புலனாய்வு மற்றும் பாதுகாப்பு அமைப்புகளுக்கு, ஆர்.டி.ஐ., எனப்படும், தகவல் அறியும் உரிமை சட்டத்தில் விலக்கு அளிக்கும் ஷரத்துக்களை சேர்த்துள்ளது.

தகவல் அறியும் உரிமை சட்டத்தில் கேட்கப்படும் கேள்விகளுக்கு, தகவல் உரிமை சட்டப் பிரிவில் உள்ள ஷரத்துக்களை மேற்கோள் காட்டி, பதில் அளிக்க, சி.பி.ஐ., மறுத்து வருகிறது.

இந்நிலையில், ஐதராபாத்தைச் சேர்ந்த, தகவல் உரிமை ஆர்வலர், சி.ஜே.கரீரா, அரசு உயரதிகாரிகள் பலரின் ஊழல் தொடர்பான தகவல்களை அளிக்கும்படி, சி.பி.ஐ.,யிடம், தகவல் உரிமை சட்டத்தில் கேட்டிருந்தார். ஆர்.டி.ஐ.,யில், தங்களுக்கு விலக்கு அளிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளதால், மனுதாரரின் கேள்விக்கு பதில் அளிக்க முடியாது என, சி.பி.ஐ., தரப்பில் கூறப்பட்டிருந்து.

சி.பி.ஐ.,யின் வாதத்தை, 2012ல், தலைமை தகவல் ஆணையர், சத்யானந்தா மிஸ்ரா நிராகரித்தார். 'ஊழல் குற்றச்சாட்டு தொடர்பான தகவல்களை அளிப்பதில், சி.பி.ஐ.,க்கு, தகவல் உரிமை சட்டத்தில் விலக்கு தரப்படவில்லை' என, அவர் கூறியிருந்தார்.

இதை எதிர்த்து, டில்லி உயர் நீதிமன்றத்தில், சி.பி.ஐ., மனு தாக்கல் செய்திருந்தது. இந்த வழக்கில், தீர்ப்பளித்த, நீதிபதி, விபு பக்ரு, ''ஊழல் குற்றச்சாட்டுகள், மனித உரிமை மீறல்கள் தொடர்பாக, தகவல் அறியும் உரிமை சட்டத்தில், சி.பி.ஐ.,க்கு முழு விலக்கு அளிக்கப்படவில்லை,'' என்றார்.

Senior citizen gets relief through RTI

S. Vijay Kumar

CHENNAI,AUGUST 14, 2017 00:00 IS

Panel awards compensation to settle excess stamp fee that he was forced to pay

A senior citizen who was forced to pay an excess stamp duty at the time of registering a property was awarded compensation by the Tamil Nadu State Information Commission (TNSIC), even after the Registration Department maintained that there was no provision to refund the extra fee levied. The commission held that records of dispatch produced by the registering authority appeared suspicious, and upheld the contention of the petitioner that there was no reply to his petition seeking clarification under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

The case arises out of an appeal made by A. Ranganathan of Kundrathur, stating that the Sub-Registrar’s office had levied excess stamp duty to the tune of Rs. 13,300 for a registration done in May 2015, and that there was no reply to his petitions seeking details of the same under the RTI Act. Since there was no response from the first appellate authority in the Registration Department, he moved the TNSIC.

During the inquiry, the Public Information Officer (PIO) claimed that a reply was sent within a month, but the petitioner denied having received any such communication. Although a copy of the dispatch register was produced in support of the claim that the reply was sent, the commission found that the entries appeared to be neither contemporaneous nor genuine.

On information that Mr. Ranganathan had moved the TNSIC, the authorities met him in-person and handed over a reply. After he refused to accept the reply, they sent a copy by registered post barely three days before the matter came up for inquiry.

‘No scope for refund’

It was seen from the records that the levy of stamp duty was excessive to the tune of Rs. 13,300, but the petitioner was informed that the amount could not be refunded since he had consented to making the payment under Section 41 of the Registration Act. The PIO reiterated during the inquiry that there was no provision to return the excess amount in these circumstances, and only departmental action could be taken against the official concerned.

Mr. Ranganathan represented that he was constrained to make the payment since he was told the document would not be registered otherwise. He further represented that he is 70 years old, illiterate and a heart patient, and the delay in getting the reply had caused him stress.

Taking these factors into account, and the fact that he attended the inquiry with the assistance of his son-in-law, State Chief Information Commissioner K. Ramanujam directed the authorities to pay compensation of Rs. 15,000 for the detriment caused to the septuagenarian by the delay in replying to his petition under the RTI Act. A decision on recovering the amount of compensation from the official responsible for dereliction of duty could be taken by the Inspector-General of Registrations.

RTI portal: HC orders notice to TN govt

TNN | Updated: Aug 13, 2017, 12:11 AM IST

Chennai: Asserting the need for an online RTI portal for every state government, an MBBS student has approached the Madras high court seeking direction to the Tamil Nadu government to launch an online portal for online RTI queries.

"Creation of online RTI portal would develop transparency, would reduce the burden of public information officers, reduce paper work and save public money along with transit delay by applying and receiving information," said Mohamed Khader Meeran, who is pursuing MBBS at Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences, Maharashtra.

Admitting the PIL, a division bench of Justices M Sathyanarayanan and N Seshasayee ordered notice to the state government returnable by September 4.

According to the petitioner, though there is a provision for online portal under the Right to Information Act, all the states including Tamil Nadu have not developed such portals. The only exemption is Maharashtra, which has made their own RTI portal without any assistance from the central government. TNN

RTI query on Chennai Silks' insurance policy rejectedPradeep Kumar| TNN | Aug 4, 2017, 11:50 PM IST


Chennai: What was the insurance sum paid to M/s The Chennai Silks after a fire gutted the company's T Nagar showroom? The question hit many of the citizens. However, according to The New India Assurance Company Limited (NIA), the insurer of Chennai Silks, providing the information would infringe upon the firm's privacy.

NIA which is a Government of India-owned firm, said so while replying to an RTIapplication filed by a T Nagar resident.

B Kannan, a resident of Rangan street in T Nagar, sought to know if Chennai Silks had a fire insurance policy issued. "...whether compliance with respect to fire safety norms for the (T Nagar) building was insisted upon and obtained, before issue of policy," asks Kannan's application dated June 21. The queries also sought details on the documents submitted by The Chennai Silks to obtain the policy.

The central public information officer for NIA, Gomathi Sharma, in her response to Kannan dated July 27 said, "As M/s Chennai Silks, Chennai has raised objection in providing the information. We are not in a position to furnish the information to you," and cited the Rule 8(1) sub-clause (j) to deny the information.

"My first thought was why was The Chennai Silks informed of my petition? The details sought are not of a personal nature, doesn't intrude into privacy and matters to larger public, especially after the fire accident," Kannan said.

Criticising the reply, RTI activists said it suggests the company must have overlooked norms to issue a policy. V Lakshmi Narayanan, who researches aspects of RTI Act, 2005, said NIA's reply suggests the company is looking to cover up a mistake. "This response is peculiar especially as the CMDA and fire department have many times submitted before the Madras high court that T Nagar buildings violate approved plan," he said.

RTI activist V Gopalakrishnan said since NIA would have paid the insurance sum out of a public fund, as it is state-owned, Kannan had every right as a taxpayer to seek and receive details.

Attempts to contact representatives of NIA's Coimbatore Regional Office failed.

Postal dept rapped for denying info to woman

Rumu Banerjee

New Delhi





The central information commission in an order has ruled that the daughter-in-law has a right to information on pension arrears of her father-inlaw. The case came up after the department of posts refused to share the information citing right to privacy of a third party . The order by information commissioner Sridhar Acharyulu is scathing about the lack of knowledge of law displayed by the chief information officer of the department of posts. It says: “It is pathetic that the CPIO did not bother to know the 2005 amendment to Hindu Succession Act, according to which sons and marriedunmarried daughters will have equal share and the family of the deceased son (wife, sons and daughters) will get the unit of that deceased son.“

 

It then went on to order the disclosure of the information to the appellant and also asked the public information officers to answer a show cause notice on why they should not be penalised for for “illegally denying the information sought“.

The appellant, the daughter-in-law of the deceased son of the pensioner, had asked for the action taken report on a representation letter dated January 2016 with regard to pension arrears of her father-in-law that needed to be settled. The CPIO had contended that the information sought belonged to a third party and thus rejected the RTI application.