Business
Standard: New Delhi: Tuesday, 30 September 2014.
The Delhi
High Court has stayed a CIC decision that organisations like the CBI, which are
exempted from sharing information under transparency law RTI, will have to
respond to queries relating to alleged corruption within the agencies.
"The
operation of the order passed by the Central Information Commission on June 4,
2014 will remain stayed," Justice Vibhu Bakhru said after hearing brief
arguments from the counsel for the CBI.
The probe
agency has challenged the order of the apex transparency panel asking it to
provide information to RTI activist Subhash Chandra Agrawal on the ground that
the queries pertained to allegations of corruption.
"Section
24 of the Right to Information (RTI) Act has exempted certain organisations
from the purview of the RTI Act, including the CBI. However, information
pertaining to allegations of corruption and human rights violations have been
excluded.
"The
appellant's contention that he was seeking information relating to corruption
within the organisation, has merit and the response provided by DIG CBI AC-III,
dated 26.6.13, is misplaced and based on an erroneous interpretation of Section
24," Chief Information Commissioner Rajiv Mathur had said.
The CIC had
also directed the CBI and its officers to provide "a point-wise
response" and "free of cost" replies to Agrawal within three
weeks.
It had also
taken note of the fact that if the queries under the RTI relate to various
offices of the CBI, then there was no system in place to ensure that they all
are responded to.
"Under
the provisions of Section 25(5) of the RTI Act, we direct the public authority
to evolve a mechanism which would ensure that a consolidated response is
provided to the appellant under the provisions of the RTI Act and the
representative of the CBI attending the hearing before the Commission is able
to respond to the status of the entire RTI," the panel had said.
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