oppn parties After The Delhi HC Order, RTI Act Will Become Meaningless

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  • The Indian envoy in Bangladesh was summoned by the country's government over the breach in the Bangladesh mission in Agartala
  • Bank account to soon have 4 nominees each
  • TMC and SP stayed away from the INDIA bloc protest over the Adani issue in the Lok Sabha
  • Delhi HC stops the police from arresting Nadeem Khan over a viral video which the police claimed promoted 'enmity'. Court says 'India's harmony not so fragile'
  • Trafiksol asked to refund IPO money by Sebi on account of alleged fraud
  • Re goes down to 84.76 against the USD but ends flat after RBI intervenes
  • Sin goods like tobacco, cigarettes and soft drinks likely to face 35% GST in the post-compensation cess era
  • Bank credit growth slows to 11% (20.6% last year) with retail oans also showing a slowdown
  • Stock markets continue their winning streak on Tuesday: Sensex jumps 597 points to 80845 and Nifty gains 181 points to 24457
  • Asian junior hockey: Defending champions India enter the finals by beating Malaysia 3-1, to play Pakistan for the title
  • Chess World title match: Ding Liren salvages a sraw in the 7th game which he almost lost
  • Experts speculate whether Ding Liren wants the world title match against D Gukesh to go into tie-break after he let off Gukesh easily in the 5th game
  • Tata Memorial Hospital and AIIMS have severely criticized former cricketer and Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu for claiming that his wife fought back cancer with home remedies like haldi, garlic and neem. The hospitals warned the public for not going for such unproven remedies and not delaying treatment as it could prove fatal
  • 3 persons died and scores of policemen wer injured when a survey of a mosque in Sambhal near Bareilly in UP turned violent
  • Bangladesh to review power pacts with Indian companies, including those of the Adani group
D Gukesh is the new chess world champion at 18, the first teen to wear the crown. Capitalizes on an error by Ding Liren to snatch the crown by winning the final game g
oppn parties
After The Delhi HC Order, RTI Act Will Become Meaningless

By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2021-01-18 15:16:47

About the Author

Sunil Garodia Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.

First it was the government that sought to dilute the provisions of the Right to Information (RTI) Act to make it difficult to obtain information from certain government departments. Now it is the turn of the courts. The Delhi High Court has decreed that whoever wishes to obtain any information from any government department will have to specify in writing why he needs the information and explain his interest in doing so. That will effectively kill the very reason for which the law was enacted. Instead of holding public servants and the government accountable for decisions taken, the Delhi HC order now tries to hold the citizen accountable for obtaining information which might expose government or civil servant highhandedness and arbitrariness. The RTI Act was designed to make it possible for people without a locus standi in the matter to obtain information. There are hundreds of other laws through which persons interested in the matter can hold government departments accountable. The RTI Act was the only avenue for the common man.

It was meant to be weapon by which the general public could expose misdeeds in government departments by demanding information about decisions taken. It was expected that the fear of disclosure would make bureaucrats to do everything above board as they would be accountable to the public who could use the RTI Act to obtain information. But successive governments have found the RTI Act a pain in the wrong place and have been using every opportunity to water down its provisions to make it a toothless tiger. Though wrong, such a reaction can be expected of them as they are directly affected by it. But why would the courts behave in this manner? Instead of reversing government decisions meant to take the sting out of the Act, the Delhi High Court has provided a handle to bureaucrats to refuse to provide information under the Act by saying that the petitioner has no locus standi to demand the information. We might as well repeal the Act and wind up the RTI wings in all departments. It will save a lot of revenue for the government. Let the public remain uninformed and the bureaucrat arrogant. 

Pic courtesy: nationalherald.com