Defence Organisation Under the Purview of RTI

Business Standard: New Delhi: Wednesday, 04 March 2015.

Right to Information Act, 2005 is applicable to any authority or body or institution of self-government established or constituted by or under the Constitution of India; by any other law made by Parliament; by any other law made by State Legislature; by notification issued or order made by the appropriate Government and includes (i) anybody owned, controlled or substantially financed; (ii) non-Government Organization substantially financed, directly or indirectly by funds provided by the appropriate Government. Further, no provisions of the RTI Act shall apply to the intelligence and security organizations specified in the second schedule of the Act, being organizations established by the Central Government or any information furnished by such organizations to that Government provided that the information pertaining to the allegations of corruptions and human rights violations shall not be excluded. Two organizations of the Ministry of Defence namely, Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) and Border Roads Development Board (BRDB) are placed in the second schedule of the RTI Act, 2005.

As per available information, no notice of Supreme Court regarding applicability of RTI Act on Defence organizations has been received.

This information was given by Defence Minister Shri Manohar Parrikar in a written reply to Dr. Pradeep Kumar Balmuchu in Rajya Sabha today.