Whispers Forum

When the RTI Act came into existence, it raised a lot of hopes of transparency and accountability. However, all such hopes are gradually diminishing. The ruling class - Executive (Politicians and Bureaucracy) has found new ways to deny information with a little help from the Judiciary. As far as an applicant is concerned, it is only of academic information which section is used to deny the information. Denial of information about the vigilance cases would lead to opacity in the conduct of such enquiries. Let RTI become a symbol of hope for transparency in governance. Denial of information should only be an exception.
Sukumar Upadhyay

As cases see a surge of the new corona virus variant, Omicron, people are still being careless and are negligent. In public places, no social distancing is being followed nor are people seen wearing masks. Many people even in government facilities too are spotted without masks And this despite the rising cases and death toll. India reported 2,47,417 fresh COVID-19 cases on January 13, taking the total tally to 3,60,70,510, according to the Union Health Ministry's latest update. The fear is that such type of criminal negligence may lead to the third wave of Corona virus. Why is the administration not taking action against such culprits ?
Rajesh Kumar

The constitution of a panel by the Supreme Court on PM’s Security Breach is a welcome step. It has also done well to announce that there would be no "One-Sided Inquiry". Investigations into the security breach that left Prime Minister Narendra Modi stuck on a flyover in Punjab for 20 minutes last week will be headed by a retired judge, Justice Indu Malhotra. Officers of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Punjab police will be part of the inquiry, the Supreme Court said, adding that the inquiry committee would submit its report "at the earliest."The committee will inquire into what caused the breach, who was responsible and what safeguards are needed to prevent such lapses in future, and submit its report at the earliest.
Ramesh

The ECI has done it well to announce that in view of the COVID spread, rallies and public meetings shouldn’t be allowed but door to door canvassing with a maximum of five persons is permissible. Also, it has allowed all recognised political parties a reasonable time slot for expressing their views on TV and Radio. It is a good beginning if followed in letter and spirit. It can be followed in future elections also, Corona or no Corona. If the nation, pushed by COVID, switched to online working in a short time, then in similar circumstances, it can move to digital canvassing too. This would save a lot of waste of public money and nuisance. But for changing our canvassing methodology, we need bold and mature politicians. It is time for leading political parties to take the leap and announce virtual campaigning, pushing others to follow.
Sanjay Sharma

Complaint against alleged illegal postings of officials of VPT and alleged illegal activities of certain officials was denied under Section 8(1)(h) of RTI with the remark that the matter was under investigation before the Vigilance Department. On second appeal, the CIC held that the denial of information by the PIO with the applicability of Section 8(1)(h) of RTI Act was not appropriate rather he should have denied the information under Section 8(1)(j) of RTI Act..
Comments
The Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in the matter of CPIO, Supreme Court of India v. Subhash Chandra Agarwal (Civil Appeal No. 10044 of 2010 with Civil Appeal No. 10045 of 2010 and Civil Appeal No. 2683 of 2010) explained the term “personal information” under Section 8(1)(j) of RTI Act. Personal records, including name, address, physical, mental and psychological status, marks obtained, grades and answer sheets, are all treated as personal information. Similarly, professional records, including qualification, performance, evaluation reports, ACRs, disciplinary proceedings, etc. are all personal information. Medical records, treatment, choice of medicine, list of hospitals and doctors visited, findings recorded, including that of the family members, information relating to assets, liabilities, income tax returns, details of investments, lending and borrowing, etc. are personal information. Such personal information is entitled to protection from unwarranted invasion of privacy and conditional access is available when stipulation of larger public interest is satisfied..
Citation: R Deepak v. Ministry of Shipping in Files No.: CIC/DSHIP/A/2020/118056+ CIC/DSHIP/A/2020/118050+ CIC/DSHIP/A/2020/118058+ CIC/DSHIP/A/2020/118059+ CIC/DSHIP/A/2020/118060, Date of Decision: 23/12/2021
Dr. Anuradha Verma (dranuradhaverma@yahoo.co.in) is an expert on RTI matters and has co-authored the books RIGHT TO INFORMATION - LAW AND PRACTICE and PIO’s guide to RTI. Apart from her weekly article here, her other articles can be read at the website of RTI Foundation of India at the link: www.rtifoundationofindia.com

I fully agree with views expressed by Ipsha Sharma ji on lapse in PM security. But I have some questions. 100% over all charge of PM security is with SPG which too has many prescribed layers. The pilot car guides the cavalcade. Normally the pilot car is 500 meters ahead of main PM cavalcade. Why pilot car did not sound. The area belonged to BSF. What were local police personnel deployed on that road doing? It seems too many hands lead to breach of this security or divided responsibility with no fixed accountability has created this scenario. The basic principle of security "minimum need to know" has been violated too.
Harish Kumar

The lapse in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s security arrangements, which left his convoy stranded on a flyover for around 20 minutes, near Ferozepur in Punjab on Wednesday is indeed a serious one. After all, a sitting Prime Minister, a former Prime Minister, and the leader revered as the father of the nation are among the list of the country’s assassinated leaders. The critical question that is that who made the decision that the Prime Minister could, and should, travel by road for more than 100 km, from Bathinda to Ferozepur and where and why the Punjab police and the intelligence agencies failed. This incident must also lead to a more efficient protocol for the Prime Minister’s travel, and a repurposing of the Special Protection Group (SPG) which with an outlay of around Rs. 600 crore and around 3,000 personnel has just one job — protect one person, the Prime Minister.
Ipsha Sharma

Of late, traditional and alternative forms of treatment like Ayurveda, Homeopathy, Unani etc. have been garnering a lot of popularity. People highly revere Ayurveda, because of its natural foundations and plant-based medication with no side-effects. This trend shift is visible not only in India but all across the globe. Similarly, homeopathy has also surfaced as a highly preferred alternative to the allopathy treatment. Insurance companies have also on the instructions of IRDA included AYUSH treatments in its mediclaim policies. But to claim coverage for AYUSH treatments, one has to be hospitalized for at least 24 hours in any government recognised Ayurveda hospital or institute whereas hospitalisation in Ayurveda and homeopathy is required in rare of the rarest case. All the more such government hospitals are not available everywhere in such a vast country. Then of what use is the coverage of AYUSH treatment under mediclaim policy.
Sanjay Sharma

Delhi University will hold entrance test from 2022-23 session to eliminate grade inflation in plus-2 marks by various state boards. It is a very welcome step. I hope they go one step further by giving admission by well designed computerised lottery. After all admission is only to BA, B.Sc pass and Honors courses, lottery is good enough and it gives equal chance to every applicant. Of course various reservations should be adhered to and lottery can be applied within each category. Applicants can be asked indicate their preference for three colleges and three courses. In each category admission for boys and girls should be in proportion to the applications received. I think this arrangement on the whole will do justice as well as make the entire admission process tension free.
Raghavan

The New Year eve tragedy at Vaishno Devi temple is very upsetting especially when this could have been avoided. Why so many people were allowed to go up? It has always been the system since the temple was taken over by Mata Vaishno Devi Board that from Katra a certain number of people were allowed to go up. The next batch could leave only when the earlier batch returns. This could help in managing the crowd in the vicinity of the temple. Where has that system gone ? Why so many people were allowed to go up? How the registration was done without an eye on the number. There is definitely failure to control the crowd there which resulted in stampede and death of 12 persons and injuries to many. Responsibility needs to be fixed for this mismanagement.
Aarti Khosla
Kudos to Mehrotraji
Mehrotra ji, Kudos to you for doing excellent job. You keep all of us informed and sometime predict the developments in the bureaucracy.
Kishori Lal