Free Press Journal: Bhopal: Wednesday,
July 13, 2016.
Commenting
that it was unfortunate that Constitutional, legislative and autonomous bodies
do not want to be transparent and accountable in their functioning and try to
wriggle out of the ambit of revolutionary legislations like the Right to
Information Act, the state information commission has ruled that the Special
Police Establishment (SPE) of the Lokayukta was covered by the RTI Act.
State
Information Commissioner Atma Deep, disposing of an appeal filed by Kedarnath Vaisya, directed the SPE to provide
the petitioner the desired information within 15 days or face penal action
under the sections 19 and 20 of the RTI Act.
The SPE had
told the applicant that the agency was exempted from the provisions of the RTI
Act and was not obliged to provide it.
It also said
that the information sought was part of a secret investigation and disclosing
it would be prejudicial to the case.
The applicant
then moved the SIC in appeal.
The SIC
rejected the contention saying that any physical or evidentiary harm was likely
if the information was disclosed.
The
commissioner has also added that the SPE was exempted from the RTI Act but the
information related to corruption and human Rights will have to be provided.
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