Times of India: Bhubaneswar:
Friday, April 25, 2014.
The state
government on Wednesday once again refused an RTI applicant information
regarding number of telephones under surveillance in recent times.
Advocate
Biswapriya Kanungo wanted to know the number of phones subjected to tapping
from January 1, 2011, to March 15. The home department initially refused to
part with the information. Kanungo moved the first appellate court, which too
disappointed him citing it as 'secret' as per the standard operation procedure
(SOP).
Kanungo,
however, was far from being satisfied. "I will move the information
commission challenging the decision. Telephone tapping as per the Supreme Court
decision is a serious invasion of privacy of an individual. It violates right
to life and liberty as per Article 21 of the constitution," the RTI
applicant said.
Further,
Kanungo said the RTI Act overrides all laws in the country that prohibited
sharing information with the public. Decision on the RTI is binding on the
government, yet the government refused information, he said.
Information
earlier obtained by Kanungo on telephone tapping by the state government had
created widespread furore. It showed the Naveen Patnaik regime had put under
surveillance 417 telephones from January 1, 2007 to December 28, 2008.
Subsequent information revealed an unbelievable rise in number of telephones
being tapped. It said the government monitored 4,620 telephones from December
29, 2008 to September 15, 2012.
"This
shows telephone tapping has become a weapon to suppress dissent. In a
democratic country such an action by the government is unacceptable,"
Kanungo said. "I had gone to the information commission earlier when the
government denied me information on telephone tapping. The commission in its
July 19, 2010, verdict had stated that the applicant had the 'right' to get the
information. "It is surprising that the home department this time has
chosen to ignore the commission's directive," he said.
.JPG)
.JPG)
