Moneycontrol.com: New Delhi: Wednesday, December 20, 2017.
The Central
Information Commission has directed the National Archives of India (NAI) to
create a special icon or window on its website's home page for easy access to
records related to the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi.
The Central
Information Commission has directed the National Archives of India (NAI) to
create a special icon or window on its website's home page for easy access to
records related to the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi.
Information
Commissioner Sridhar Acharyulu said the NAI has to develop a mechanism of easy
access to the assassination records along with information of Gandhi's life and
national movement.
"In
online records of NAI, one will find the title of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose
papers. There is also a separate page for Netaji papers, which can be accessed
by a click of a mouse. There is no such easy access to Mahatma Gandhi
papers," he said.
The
commission also directed the NAI to make it easy for people to access records
related to noted leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Lal
Bahadur Shastri, Guljari Lal Nanda and Indira Gandhi among others.
"The
commission finds it strange that why the NAI has not created access to papers
of our father of nation Mahatma Gandhi, first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru,
Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Guljari Lal Nanda and Indira
Gandhi, etc," Acharyulu noted.
He also
instructed it to publish list of categories of records it has, catalogues etc
as a voluntary disclosure under Section 4 of RTI Act.
"In the
first place, on priority, the Commission recommends the easy access mechanism,
both physical and on line, to papers of father of the nation, as soon as
possible and others within reasonable time," Acharyulu directed the NAI,
the official archive keeper of the country.
The case
pertains to RTI applicant Nitin Sagar who approached the NAI seeking to know
the process for obtaining documents like FIR, court proceedings, judgements
relating to the murder trial of Gandhi claiming that he is neither a student
nor a research scholar.
The NAI said
scholars, non-scholars or ordinary persons are invited and also provided with
photocopies of documents sought by depositing Rs 2 per page as prescribed fee.
"The
appellant wanted to know about the access to an ordinary person other than
scholar and researcher. His RTI request should have been considered as a good
suggestion to make such records available easily either on line or off the
line," Acharyulu said.
He also said
that if someone approaches through non-RTI route also they have to provide the
easy access and other facilities, without postponing the access by 30 days.
"The
time of 30 prescribed under RTI Act is not to deny information till 29th
day," he said.
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