CIC for holistic implementation of RTI

The Hans India: Visakhapatnam: Monday, September 11, 2017.

Welcoming the Supreme Court’s nine-judge bench verdict on the Right to Privacy as a Fundamental Right, Central Information Commissioner Madabhushi Sridhar said that the bench could have defined privacy for making a law and to avoid further ambiguity on the issue.

Prof Madabhushi Sridhar was speaking at the launching of the book  'RTI & Misconduct of Public Servant - Is bribing a family affair' written by him. The book was released by Visakha Steel Plant Chairman and Managing Director D P Madhusudan at Andhra University Platinum Jubilee Guest House here on Sunday. The book was brought out in the wake of 60 per cent RTI applications being rejected by using judgment of the Supreme Court in the Girish Ramachandra Deshpande case.

"This pocket pistol decision was used to shoot down RTIs. The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), which being a nodal agency to implement RTI has quickly issued an Office Memorandum (OM), directing the Public Information Officers to deny requests for such information," Madabhushi Sridhar wrote in the preface of the book and added that, "The pocket pistol without bullets and this OM need to be buried."

According to the CIC, holistic implementation of RTI is needed to foster transparent governance and free flow of information in the society. Giving his comments on Supreme Court’s landmark judgement, he observed, "Though it is a good judgement, the Bench could have come up with an explanation or definition on privacy and its scope. So, a law cannot be made on the matter to protect privacy, which is a fundamental right according to the verdict.

The book was written based on the RTI Act's Section 8 (1), along with several court judgements for deeper analysis and insights. He dedicated the book to journalist Potturi Venkateshwar Rao.

Damodaram Sanjivayya National Law University Vice-Chancellor Keshava Rao, in his address, assured that the book would be translated into Telugu on behalf of DSNLU before printing 1,000 copies in the regional language. DSNLU former Vice-Chancellor Prof Y Satyanarayana and others were present on the occasion.