Whispers Forum

Shortage of NCERT text books is not new but a scandal continuing for at least 4 decades. The booksellers have been overcharging under various pretexts. Fake publications had made corruption even in the education sector a thriving industry. Today, things are, to say the briefest, commercialised beyond redress. It is wise to explore options of choice rather than indulging in the luxury of complaining. In a fit of anger one might choose to lodge a complaint in the hope of justice; with little idea about justice!
M L Gupta

Mr. Shamim Alam filed an RTI application seeking information in relation to Non-Judicial stamp paper of the Denomination of Rupees 10 bearing a distinct number. The PIO replied that the disclosure of the sensitive details of the stamp paper(s) would adversely affect the economic interest of the country and would not serve any larger public interest. The information was denied by seeking exemption under Section 8(1)(a), 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act, 2005. First Appeal was filed by Mr. Shakil Ahmed as a Special Power of Attorney (SPA) holder of the Mr. Shamim Alam which was rejected by FAA. Upon a remark by the CIC during second appeal regarding the appropriateness of the FAA’s order in having rejected the First Appeal filed under SPA by Shakil Ahmed, the Representative of the Appellant feebly stated that the erroneous First Appeal stands rectified as the Second Appeal has been filed by Shamim Alam only. The CIC observed that the FAA has appropriately rejected the First Appeal as being not maintainable as the RTI Application and First Appeal are filed by separate individuals. Further, since the channel of First Appeal has not been properly exhausted by the Appellant, the instant second appeal is also not maintainable.
Comments
As far as possible, a person who desires an information should file the RTI application and appeal under his / her own name and signature.
Citation: Shamim Alam v. Security Printing Press, Hyderabad, CIC/SPPRE/A/2022/151493; Date of Decision: 18.03.2024
Dr Anuradha Verma (dranuradhaverma@yahoo.co.in) is a RTI Consultant currently working with IIM Visakhapatnam. She has co-authored the books, RTI Right to Information - Law and Practice and PIO’s Guide to RTI. She offers consultancy on RTI matters and Third party audit. Her other articles can be read at the website of RTI Foundation of India at the link www.rtifoundationofindia.com

While the serving civil servants have failed to perform, some Ex-bureaucrats rose to the occasion and took up the cudgel against the former breed.
In a recent letter to the Election commission , a group of 87 retired-bureaucrats who had worked in States and the central governments, penned down a strongly-worded letter to the Election commission,voicing serious concerns about "challenges to a level playing field ahead of the general election as per the Constitution of India" .The issue was largely ignored by the mainstream media for obvious reasons.
A big salute to Dr E. A. S. Sarma, former Secretary to Govt of India,for taking the initiative.He belongs to that rare breed of civil servants, who has always been fighting against the shortcomings in Indian democratic system- both, while in service and even after retirement. The late T N Seshan was another tough person,fit for the post of CEC.Extinct species.
The missive is a wake-up call for the Election commission that must share the blame for turning the Nelson's eye to the selective misuse of anti-corruption agencies by reigning political classes against their detractors.
The civil servants including those serving in States governed by parties supporting different political ideologies and the bureaucrats at the centre are expected to be apolitical . Unfortunately,their partisan approach shows their weak spines in lieu of petty gains.
Should the matter be allowed to rest here? Never,ever !
Time for Judicial activism in support of the retired bureaucrats. The Supreme Court is the only hope for the country. It is urged to order suo motu action against the non-performing,delinquent and politicised bureaucracy and even constitutional functionaries.
A K Saxena ( A former civil servant)

As soon as the elections come, all the political parties have started announcing their manifestos and resolutions. This is a kind of election ritual which is performed by all parties. Looking at all the manifestos it shows that the middle class has been given the least attention. There are many promises for farmers, Dalits, tribals, minorities, women and the poor, but the middle class never gets anything. The same situation prevails in the budgets of state governments as well as the Centre. Even in the budgets of governments, least attention is given to the middle class. This is the situation when the middle class of the country is the strongest engine of economic development.
Ankita Malviya

Due to perceived failure of the Agniveer scheme, Sonam Wangchuk , the climate activist from Ladakh, has charged that the Gorkhas from Nepal have started getting themselves enrolled in the Peoples' Liberation Army (PLA) to fight the Indian army. It is further alleged that China has illegally occupied 4000 Sq Km territory in Ladakh through its salami slicing tactic. Incidentally,this is in addition to 38,000 Sq Km area already occupied by China in Aksai Chin in the 1962 war. As of today, the charge is that the PLA soldiers simply entered Ladakh and captured territory that was earlier used by the Ladhakis for cattle grazing. China has reportedly built air bases and villages for PLA soldiers in the encroached land, denying legitimate access to the Ladakhis. Satellite imaging techniques must be used to collect evidence to refute the claim. These matters are too serious to be ignored as otherwise these could adversely impact the country's morale and even our armed forces especially when the country is on the threshold of General elections. How could India's security forces and intelligence agencies feign ignorance about the vicious development?
A K Saxena (A former civil servant)

The joining of Congress leaders from Chhindwara to BJP on such a large scale is in itself a big challenge for Kamal Nath and his son this time in Chhindwara. These include most of the leaders whose careers have flourished because of Kamal Nath and they have made their mark in politics. But this time the challenge for Kamal Nath is not only because many leaders close to him have joined BJP. The challenge is also because there was speculation about him and his son joining BJP and he did not come forward and refute it immediately. That's why Kamal Nath's credibility has taken a hit because the people of his Lok Sabha constituency have started feeling that he had tried to join BJP.
Nancy Singh

It is outrageous on China’s part to release the 4th list of renamed 30 geographical places, lakes, mountains and cities in Arunachal Pradesh and claiming sovereignty over them. Three lists were released in the last 7 years (2017-24). 1st list (6 places); 2nd (15); 3rd (11) and now the 4th (30). Thus, in all, 62 places have been renamed by India’s expansionist neighbour. This is an act of aggression in gross violation of international law. Unfortunately, India’s response to China, has always been laidback -more defensive than offensive. Why is India scared of China? Why can’t it retaliate by renaming cities in Tibet and Aksai-chin on the same analogy? Offence is the best form of defence. Could India not resort to ‘stapled visa’ system for the Chinese coming from Tibet and Aksai-chin? China may have multiple ulterior motives. One is to destabilize the largest democracy and the fastest growing economy like India that is on the threshold of General elections. There is a word of caution from the Guardian (newspaper) which has quoted Microsoft slamming China for possible misuse of Artificial intelligence for disrupting impending elections in three democracies: India, the US and South Korea. China had no business opposing PM Modi’s recent visit to Arunachal Pradesh. How could India tolerate this? Who would justify China’s forceful occupation of once independent Tibet and grabbing 38,000 sq km of Aksaichin (let us call it COK i.e. China-occupied Kashmir)? What about Gilgit -Baltistan occupied under CPEC in the name of infrastructure development? And, worse, how to support the religious persecution of Uyghur Muslims in China? What prevents India from raising these important issues at international fora including the UNO? India’s MEA and MOD’s continuous dialogues with PLA counterparts, is a ploy misused by China to gain time for building PLA barracks alongside the LAC and resort to salami slicing. This has been the usual trick for illegally occupying Indian territory. This could adversely impact the morale of Indian Armed forces. The US’s condemnation of China for renaming 62 places in Arunachal, is lip sympathy. Instead of relying on the US and its western allies, India should be ‘ Atma-nirbhar ’ in smartly managing its border with the hostile China. If China's aggressive attitude is allowed to continue, war between the two neighbours is inevitable.
A K Saxena (A former civil servant)

The applicant sought certain information from the Security Paper Mill like the standards for testing of parameters of Density, Brookfield Viscosity and Non-Volatile Solid in respect of Polymer (Flocculant). The PIO denied the information claiming that the actual and complete procedures can't be shared with or provided to others because it was their internal confidential documents and being a Security Organization and being a NABL Accredited Lab, they have to maintain the confidentiality of the organization. The CIC observed that the information has been denied without even invoking any exemption clause of the RTI Act. Repeated opportunities were afforded by CIC to justify the denial under any of the exemptions envisaged under Section 8 and/or 9 of the RTI Act, yet, the Respondent continued to harp on the ‘approval of competent authority’ and eventually quoted Section 8(1)(d) in an unconvincing manner. The CIC observed that what has been sought by this Applicant is merely the testing procedure followed by Security Paper Mill Quality Control Lab (SPM QC) for testing of certain parameters in respect of a product, Polymer (Flocculant), which is procured by Security Paper Mill (SPM) through public tender. SPM accepts or rejects the product supplied by vendors on the basis of testing carried out using these procedures and these testing procedures are, therefore, a matter of public interest, since vendors’ interests will be adversely affected if material is rejected on the basis of inappropriate / non- standard testing procedures. The information sought does not pertain to any of the core activities of SPM and does not affect security interests in any manner. Holding that this information must be provided and cannot be withheld on the ground of confidentiality, the CIC directed to provide the information.
Comments
Without properly invoking section 8 or section 9 of the RTI Act, a PIO should not reject the application seeking information. If the interests of a vendor are affected by the procedure followed by the public authority, the public interest may be claimed to seek the details of such procedure.
Citation:Mahasweta M. v. Security Paper Mill, M.P., CIC/SPMIL/A/2022/635766; Date of Decision: 15.03.2024
Dr Anuradha Verma (dranuradhaverma@yahoo.co.in) is a RTI Consultant currently working with IIM Visakhapatnam. She has co-authored the books, RTI Right to Information - Law and Practice and PIO’s Guide to RTI. She offers consultancy on RTI matters and Third party audit. Her other articles can be read at the website of RTI Foundation of India at the link www.rtifoundationofindia.com

It is reported that young voters are not interested in election. The young voters shall make costly mistake by not participating actively in the election. It is one significant personal experience gained at no cost. It will reduce the cost of coaching for competitive exams later in life as no amount of class room teaching can match personal experience. And everyone needs to know political system and government in the country if one seeks employment or takes up self-employment. They will have the opportunity to listen, analyse, evaluate, observe and watch the management of an election for a candidate or her/his party and arrangements required to conduct a free and fair election of such a magnitude. They will learn the economics of the election and the foreign attempts to influence, malign and vilify the process. They will also learn a lot about the judicial process involved. The preamble says justice ..political. The true meaning needs to be learned in the laboratory called election. Luckily the youth today is spared the ugly experience of “scientific rigging or booth chhaapnaa etc”. So, participate and vote as a duty to learn life's precious lesson in personal interest like the rest of education which will be needed when they enter jobs/self-employment."
M L Gupta