RTI: Five-year jail term for 'no file' response

Manorama: Thiruvananthapuram: Monday, 27 April 2015.

In a major sprucing up act, the Kerala government issued a circular which tightens the grip on officials responding to queries sent to State government office as per the RTI Act. Officers who deny information citing non-availability of files will be sentenced to five years' rigorous imprisonment, the circular said.

Most of the applications sent to the government offices are returned with a blank reply citing the absence of the relevant file. Thousands of such applications seeking information on controversial issues have been sent back without a proper answer in this manner.

However, the new circular of the General Administration Department stated henceforth the officials who return applications without proper reason and say that the file is missing will be sentenced to five years in jail and fine.

If the file has been destroyed as per the rules the related official should be able to prove it. If not proved legal actions will be initiated against the concerned official on the basis of the assumption that the file is with him, the circular said.

RTI activists hope to see an end to the phenomenon of files missing from the State government offices when the circular takes effect.