Friday, July 13, 2018

RTI activists spread the word on when info cannot be denied

DNA: Mumbai: Friday, July 13, 2018.
Right to Information (RTI) activists in the city have decided to create awareness on some orders of the Supreme Court that are often cited to deny information. A meeting on the subject was held on Wednesday at Dadar.
"There are a few judgements that are increasingly being cited by the public information officers to deny information. They cite section 8 (1) (j) of the RTI Act to deny such information," said Shailesh Gandhi, former central information commissioner.
"Increasingly PIOs are using this section for any information that concerns individual, even if their name is not mentioned. It is like this: the Supreme Court is amending the RTI Act, so how do we challenge the Supreme Court to protect our right and get information? Even review petition can be done only by those who are parties to the judgement," said Gandhi.
After the meeting, the activists could not come to any conclusion but it was decided to create public awareness about it. "If they keep denying information like this, the entire RTI Act would be self-defeating," said Bhaskar Prabhu, another RTI activist who attended the meeting.