Economic
Times: New Delhi: Friday, 06 March 2015.
The Central
Information Commission, the final appellate authority for RTI Act, has found a
novel way to allow disclosure of rape cases records ask woman representatives
of the applicant to go through the records and use a whitener to block out
personal details of victims and then sign a non-disclosure agreement to ensure
that details are not leaked out.
The order was
passed by Information Commissioner M Sridhar Acharyulu in response to an RTI
appeal filed by Baladevan Rangaraju, who sought information on rape cases being
referred to Delhi Commission for Women (DCW). Rangaraju had contended that he
needed the information for research purposes but was denied by DCW.
Acharyulu
said in his order that rape records should be made public by using the
severability clause provided in RTI Act. This clause allows divulging records
by severing parts that are prohibited from disclosure under different
provisions, in this case by severing parts revealing the identities of victims
and the accused. He said that DCW would provide photocopies of all records to
woman representatives of the applicant. These representatives would not be
allowed to carry any electronic recording device. They would peruse the records
and then using a whitener blank out parts revealing the identities of the
victims.
After that
each paper would be verified by the public authority to ensure that identities
are not being revealed. The manner in which the Information Commissioner has
sought to divulge records has been questioned by activists.
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