The
Hindu: New Delhi: Friday, October 12, 2012.
On the
occasion of the seventh anniversary of the Right to Information Act, 2005, RTI
activists from 16 States came together on Thursday at a public hearing on the
Act and appealed to the Union government and Parliament to review the Supreme
Court judgment on appointment of Information Commissioners. They called for the
review as the judgment “fails” to deal with several important aspects of
implementation of the Act. The RTI Act was passed on June 15, 2005, and came
fully into force on October 12 that year.
The National
Campaign for People’s Right to Information (NCPRI), which organised the public
hearing in collaboration with other civil society groups including Satark
Nagrik Sangathan, Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan, Transparency International,
Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, Accountability Initiative, JOSH,
Pardarshita, NFIW, CFAR, Rajasthan RTI Manch, Sanskriti Foundation and
Inclusive Media for Change, passed several resolutions appealing for a review
of the court verdict.
Act will
be rendered ineffective:
The appeal
comes just a day before the annual convention of State and Central Information
Commissioners, which is expected to be addressed by the Prime Minister. Apart
from discussing the how the State Information Commissions and the Central
Information Commission (CIC) function, the public hearing talked about the apex
court’s verdict and its current and potential impact.
In a recent
judgment, the apex court said all Commissions must henceforth work in benches
of two members each, one of whom would be a “judicial member.”
One of the
most significant impacts of the judgment, the activists said, would be that it
would increase the pendency of cases, which anyway runs into tens of thousands.
As a result,
the efficacy of the RTI Act would be undermined, said the former Central
Information Commissioner, Shailesh Gandhi. “Today, if five Information
Commissioners are able to dispose of 15,000 cases every year, the present
judgment of the Supreme Court will reduce the disposal rate to less than 25 per
cent of current capacity.”
“The judgment
fails to lay down norms on time-bound disposal of cases at the Commission. This
will make the RTI ineffective and impede peoples’ fundamental right to information,”
said one of the resolutions passed at the end of the day-long public hearing,
which will also be forwarded to the CIC and the Centre.
“Therefore,
we urge a review of the SC judgment at different levels at the level of the
government and Parliament, at the level of the court itself through a review
petition and through widespread discussions across the country, keeping in mind
the potential and actual impact of this judgment on the functioning of
Information Commissions in India,” the resolution said.
Judgment silent
on improvement of process:
The public
hearing also supported the Supreme Court’s concern at transparency and fairness
in the process of appointment of Information Commissioners. However, it added
that “apart from a few remarks on transparency and fairness in appointment
procedures, the judgment is silent on the actual process of how this will be
improved.”
The activists
also said the apex court should “immediately clarify whether the existing
Commissions can continue to function and dispose appeals and complaints as per
the RTI Act.”
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