Whispers Forum

In his RTI application, the appellant sought information on 24 points wherein he pointed out which points pertained to which PIOs. The CIC observed that the appellant has indicated 4 PIOs to whom the queries pertained and despite knowing this fact, he has filed single RTI application before Education Department mentioning all the PIOs of different zones with the expectation that PIO of Department of Education would collect the information from all the PIOs concerned and provide it to the appellant. The respondent informed that the appellant is habitual RTI applicant and filed various RTI applications, first appeals and second appeals under the RTI Act just to harass the public authority. It may not be out of place to mention that total 27 second appeals/complaints have been disposed of by the appellant either by his name or his son’s name (Ullas Jain) before the Commission as on date and in most of the cases, he did not appear despite service of hearing notice. The Commission observed that the information as available with the respondent has already been provided to the appellant and no interference from the CIC is warranted. Further, the CIC advised the appellant to exercise his right to information in an informed and judicious manner in the future.
Comments
Many PIO’s have been transferring the RTI application to different zones either out of fear of penalty or under the erroneous belief that they are expected to compile the information and provide to the applicant. It causes unnecessary transfer of RTI application across multiple levels which is not mandated under the RTI Act, 2005.
Citation: V K Jain v. Dy. Director of Education, CIC/DIRED/A/2022/668667; Date of Decision: 22-03-2024
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

This time during the first two phases of voting it is visible that the youth are less inclined towards voting. This means that young voters know that no political party has the ability to solve their problems. It is known to everyone that the biggest problem of the youth is related to employment. There has been no improvement in the unemployment situation in the last several decades. Due to this also the youth are disillusioned. Despite this, people should vote as much as possible because elections decide the future of the country.
Ankita Malviya

The recent intense political events in Indore, MP are expected to influence the political landscape of the Malwa and Nimar region. The decision of Congress candidate Akshay Kanti Bam to withdraw his nomination on the final day of withdrawal has dealt a significant setback to the party. The management of the Congress party failed in handling this situation effectively. This turn of events is likely to impact the political standing of State President Jitu Patwari, particularly since Indore is his home district and he was instrumental in securing the ticket for Akshay Kanti Bam.
Nancy Singh

It is an ironic situation - A senior judiciary member prefers to call himself / an organization headed by himself not a Public Authority. It indicates that either they have not read the definition of "public authority" under the RTI Act or prefer to ignore it. Both these conditions are astonishing which some may even term as dangerous. Ignorance at such a senior level or deliberate overlooking could be fatal for the democratic process. Surprisingly, the Information Commission has not cared to look into the law by itself.
Shubhankar Pandey

Due to the non-availability of CIC and IC in Delhi, most of the second appeals on RTI are pending as early as 15-18 months. CPIO and FAA of various Govt Dept are least bothered about replying to the applications as they are aware that it can be delayed as nothing is also going to happen at the CIC level. Moreover, no strict action and/or penalties are imposed by CIC nowadays, so it has become a waste of time. CPIOS are applying various conditions for not relying upon the RTI and their staff members ask for Money for the same. The Supreme Court has correctly said that RTI has become a dead letter. My 62nd appeals are pending from 1 to 15 months with CIC, no action by CPIOS has been taken on the earlier orders, mainly they are for DDA and RCS, Delhi.
Vishnu Agrawal

The Appellant filed an RTI application with PACL Nodal Officer and Secretary, Judge (Retd) R.M. Lodha Committee seeking certain information. Having not received any response from the CPIO, the Appellant filed a First Appeal with the FAA, PACL Nodal Officer and Secretary, Judge (Retd) R.M. Lodha Committee. Aggrieved with the non-receipt of any response, the Appellant approached the CIC. During hearing, the attention of the CIC was invited towards the following clarification mentioned in the written submissions filed by SEBI, copy of which was also endorsed to the Appellant. The clarification read, “…the Justice Lodha Committee having been constituted by an order dated 02/02/2016 of the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India is not a Public Authority within the meaning under Section 2 (h) of the RTI Act, 2005 and hence would not fall within the purview of the said Act…” After adverting to the facts and circumstances of the case, and perusal of records, the CIC observed that the Appellant has not filed the RTI Application with any public authority as required under Section 6(1) of the RTI Act.
Comments
The CIC has preferred to rely on the submissions of the respondent without referring to the definition of a public authority as per section 2(h) of the RTI Act. any authority or body or institution of self-Government established or constituted by notification issued or order made by the appropriate Govern­ment is covered under the definition of a public authority. As per section 2(a) of the RTI Act, "appropriate Government" means in relation to a public authority which is established, constituted, owned, controlled or substantially financed by funds provided directly or indirectly by the Central Government or the Union territory administration, the Central Government. It is apparent that Justice Lodha Committee having been constituted by an order dated 02/02/2016 of the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India is a Public Authority within the meaning under Section 2 (h) of the RTI Act, 2005.
Citation: M. Shanmugam v. Pearls Agrotech Corporation Ltd. and SEBI, CIC/SEBIH/A/2022/134030; Date of Decision: 14.03.2024
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

Apropos WIC dated April 25, 2024. The Congress bashing (Recall the Cong-led UPA’s arrogance of power) justified due to its dynastic and autocratic proclivities combined with dismal track record. But, the criticism cannot be allowed to rest here. It will be termed partisan. Things have not changed an iota! Selectively slamming the congress party cannot absolve the ruling dispensation from its constitutional obligations. The common perception is that the present dispensation has grown terribly megalomaniac and intolerant to freedom of press. And, worst of all- it is being chased by various controversies arising out of serial scams. Worse still, the factors like rising inflation, unemployment, rampant corruption, poor services delivery mechanism, lack of accountability and transparency, are noteworthy features. These may tilt the electoral results, one way or the other. Public is fully aware. Political coalitions are mere opportunistic alliances, marriage of convenience. ‘Public service’ is the profession of the politicians. Then , why condemn them, alone? The bureaucracy cannot escape its responsibilities and obligations under the law of the land. It has to share the lion’s share of the blame for the present state of affairs.
Sadly, true to their genre, the bureaucracy has been consistently failing by remaining pliant to the political class. It is gutless, even gum less to stand its ground and question the decisions of the temporary Executive. On the contrary, it is found ever ready to implement the orders of the political masters (legal or illegal).As consultants, the bureaucrats also advise the politicians on decision-making. Selecting bureaucrats to sensitive assignments is arbitrary, discretionary, based on pick and choose. Loyalty is rewarded. This has been the usual practice all along in the past under different political dispensations, both at the centre and the states.
A K Saxena (A former civil servant)

Neither noble nor majestic sounding noble and majestic but being neither defines the present day Congress Party. Congress of freedom fighters stood for sacrifice. Contrary to this, the present day Congress is a party of looters. The worst part of it is that it welcomes other looters, who were afraid of getting caught and punished for their crimes. It prides in such alliances, bilateral or multilateral. It openly encourages them to indulge in daylight robberies of national assets and justifies it too. It openly threatens law enforcement agencies of putting them in jail if elected to rule India once again in the 2024 elections to the Lok Sabha. It gets support, encouragement and ammunition to destroy India promising to overturn all the good work done in the last 10 years by non-stop assiduous work of a team of sons and daughters of Bharat, who owe allegiance to none other than Bharat. The children of Bharat belong to Bharat only and not some foreign country or ruler. The low standards of language of these looters and their alliance suffer from the limitations of a single language proficiency in English. They are ignorant of Sanskrit and its rich intellectual literature. The limitation of these looters, who prefer to call themselves only Indian, that too proudly giving an impression they are somehow superior to the rest of Bharat, act funny by presenting themselves as nobles or royals without being either is self-evident. They are to be pitied for their option to remain cut off from the Great Bharat.
M L Gupta