Bangalore
Mirror: Bangalore: Friday, 04 December 2015.
Success of
the first session of RTI Lok Adalat gives hope to activists in the state.
The first
session of the state's RTI Lok Adalat that took place in Malleshwaram on
Thursday was a resounding success: Out of 38 cases that were taken up by the
court, 26 were closed with 12 cases pending for the absence of public
information officers (PIO) and complainants.
"Day one
was a success. RTI adalat is an effective way to redress grievances pertaining
to the RTI act. It also is effective in speedy disposal of cases and addressing
pendency issue," L Krishna Murthy, state information commissioner.
Moreover, now, with a similar status of a civil court, breach of agreement to
provide information would culminate in stricter punishment than before
including civil imprisonment in the Lok Adalat. This is expected to offer a new
dimension to RTI activism as denial of information can henceforth be treated as
a civil dispute.
RTI court
versus RTI Lok-Adalat court
So far,
denial of information, for months and years, followed by an appeal before the
information commission (which again goes for years), and the most serious
outcome - a penalty of Rs 25,000 - has made it a too-easy-to-get-away-with
affair for the PIOs. Moreover, the beneficiary of such act of denial of
information ended up paying the penalty. In some cases, the act of denial
proved a blessing in disguise than a fearful court proceeding to officials. A
huge pendency of over 29,000 such complaints against PIOs of various
departments before the state information commission is an example of the
officials' 'casual' approach towards applications seeking information on important
issues.
But this
might change. What was so far an information commission court was transformed
into an RTI-Lok Adalat Court through a notification under section 6(c) of
National Legal Services Authority (Lok Adalath) Regulation, 2009. According to
the experts, the court gained a status of a civil court against the normal RTI
court. The first court hearing on Thursday was presided by two officials - a
civil court judge N Raju as Judicial Conciliator and L Krishna Murthy, the
state information commissioner. Advocate Veeresh Babu was appointed as an
advocate conciliator through the notification.
This makes
the information 'denial-appeal-disposal' affair a more serious one, and more so
to the state government officials, who escaped earlier, sources said.
RTI activists
in the state welcome the move. "I welcome it as the activists get a
fillip. It is good as the information appeal proceedings get a civil court
status and the model should be taken up by other states. It is adding a tool to
the hands of the RTI activists," Wg Cdr G B Athri (rtd) told Bangalore
Mirror.
"Whatever
happens in a Lok Adalat becomes an executable decree. If a fine is imposed and
not paid, fine levy warrant can be issued as if a revenue recovery case under
section 421 of Criminal Procedure Code.
"Second,
if the time to provide information - as committed in a RTI Lok Adalat before
the closure of case -is not honoured, then it amounts to contempt by showing
disrespect to an order of civil court. Both cases can lead to civil
imprisonment. None of these are present in a court under state information
commission," a state information commission official explained.
Overwhelming
response
"We have
received overwhelming response on day one. The same will be repeated with
different judicial and advocate conciliators as appointed by the District Legal
Services Authority everyday till December 15. The RTI Lok-Adalat aims to
strengthen the hands of RTI activists in state," C G Vrushabendra Murthy,
secretary KSIC told Bangalore Mirror.
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