DNA: Mumbai: Wednesday, October 05, 2016.
The State
Information Commission in a landmark order has asked all details of private
security agencies with licenses and their enquiry reports be put online. The
online disclosure will include the name of the security agency, duration of
their license, names of the guards and enquiry reports. The order that was
passed by State Information Commissioner Ajit Kumar Jain(Brihanmumbai) bench on
September 29 allows all access to the licensed security agency with the click
of a button.
The order was
passed after an applicant filed a second appeal stating that he was not allowed
information of the private security in his building premises.
The
applicants in this case were T. Joseph Geroge and Filomena George. In their
application, under The Private Security Agencies (Regulation), Act 2005 they
had sought details of M/s Santosh Carewell Services Private Limited that
provides security in their society. The applicants wanted to know from the
police if the agency had a valid license.
The Public
Information Officer stated in the first appeal, that information was provided
and for any further information the applicant would have to approach another
department in the Commissioner's office. During the second appeal, the commission
observed that information provided should actually be a part of the suo motu
disclosure as per section 4 (1) (b) of the RTI Act. Thus it should be put
online. It asked the Assistant Commissioner of Police's office, to enquire
about the licenses that were given to private security agencies in the city as
per The Private Security Agencies (Regulation) Act 2005. The commission also
directed that the compliance of the order should be reported to the commission
by October end.
Private
Security Agencies have been created to protect people but in the past few
months several simultaneous incidences have made Mumbaikars rethink about the
safety standards employed by their societies. Mumbai lawyer Pallavi
Purkhayasta's case and the shooting of another guard at Shah Rukh Khan's
bungalow are some of the horrific cases that come to mind thus making people
question whether we really are safe in the hands of the agencies.
.JPG)
.JPG)
