Activists approach governor over Anti Corruption Bureau being out of RTI Act

DNA: Mumbai: Friday, October 24, 2014.

A group of RTI activists will soon approach the governor demanding that the notification keeping anti corruption bureau (ACB) out of Right to Information (RTI) Act be scrapped. dna had reported that the outgoing government, as a partying shot, had ensured that ACB would be out of RTI ambit.

While RTI activist Vijay Kumbhar has already shot off a letter to the governor; two NGOs working for RTI awareness, will send another in a day or two.

"As per rules, the governor can ask the government to have a re-look at the notification, or scrap it. It's anyway bad in law," said Kumbhar.

The notification cites sub-section 4 of section 24 of the RTI Act. It states: "Nothing contained in this Act shall apply to such intelligence and security organisations established by the state government, as that government may, from time to time, by notification in the official gazette, specify: provided that the information pertaining to the allegations of corruption and human rights violations shall not be excluded under this sub-section: provided further that in the case of information sought for is in respect of allegations of violation of human rights, the information shall only be provided after the approval of the state information commission and, notwithstanding anything contained in section 7, such information shall be provided within forty-five days from the date of the receipt of request."

"The section actually exempts security and intelligence agencies. ACB, on the other hand, is an investigative agency. It neither does any work of providing security or intelligence. There is no reason why it should be exempted," said Bhaskar Prabhu of Mahiti Adhikar Manch, which will write to both the governor and the state information commission in this regard.

Activist also want the government to make public the reasons why and how it had come out with the notification. Sub-section 4 (1) (c and) of RTI Act states that while formulating important policies or announcing decisions, all relevant facts that affect the public, should, suo motu, be declared by the government. It also states that affected people should be given the reasons for administrative or quasi-judicial decisions. Aiding the section, an order issued by state information commission recently stated that even transfers ordered before they are due should be placed before the public.