PGI cleared 11% kidney transplants last year

Times of India: Chandigadh: Tuesday, February 28, 2023.

The Internal Scrutiny Committee of premier medical institute PGI cleared 23% of live/cadaver kidney transplants at the hospital in 2021 and 11% in 2022, according to a reply to an RTI query sought by TOI, which means not all registered were approved owing to medical reasons and delay in meetings of the committee. In 2021, out of 999 patients waiting for kidney transplantations at the PGI, 228 were given approval by the committee, while a few others had to wait for other reasons. A total of 187 transplants were conducted.

The PGI is one of the few center's in the country that offers kidney transplants at almost one fourth the cost as compared to private hospitals. The institute has the largest and oldest kidney transplant programme in the country. "There are patients coming from as far as Jharkhand and even to the PGI as the cost is the lowest in the country and there are experts available with high success rate," said another faculty member. In 2022, out of 1,303 patients due to the transplant surgery, 145 were fortunate to get the committee clearance for the operation, while the rest could not. Out of these, 201 were operated upon as those who got committee's nod in 2021 were also taken up later. The committee reviews the medical records of the patients and then forwards to the authorization committee that takes the final call to allow or reject the surgeries as per the Transplantation of Human Organs Act. However, when the committee was formed, the rates of transplants increased. It was the highest this year as compared to 2021 and 2022. In January, there were 101 patients registered for the transplant, out of which 27 were given approval by the committee. Patients registered in January 2021 and 2022 were 83 and 76, while clearance was 26 and 11.

Only one polluter prosecuted in Mumbai under Air Act since 2015

Hindustan Times: Prayag-Arora Desai: Mumbai: Tuesday, Febraury 28, 2023.

This data came to light via an RTI request by Girgaum resident Jeetendra Ghadge, who has raised several complaints with the MPCB regarding increasing air pollution in South Mumbai, due to rampant construction, including that caused by the BMC’s Coastal Road project and MMRCL’s Mumbai Metro.

Mumbai: Despite worsening air quality in the city in recent years, the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) in Mumbai has initiated legal action against just one violator -- under the provisions of the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 -- since 2015. The MPCB did not share specific details of the violation or ensuing court proceedings, despite requests.

This data came to light via an RTI request by Girgaum resident Jeetendra Ghadge, who has raised several complaints with the MPCB regarding increasing air pollution in South Mumbai, due to rampant construction, including that caused by the BMC’s Coastal Road project and MMRCL’s Mumbai Metro. “In Mumbai, where citizens every day are raising their voice before various authorities over egregious pollution levels, it is shocking that just one polluter has been taken to court in seven years,” Ghadge said.

To be sure, this statistic does not reflect the number of show cause notices and closure directions issued to various polluters in the same time frame, but it indicates how political and administrative will to implement the Air Act in full has completely fizzled out. Experts, including a former member secretary of the MPCB who spoke to Hindustan Times on condition of anonymity, resolutely agreed.

Chief Information Commissioner Can’t Order Mandatory Reimbursement of Medical Bills: Allahabad HC.

News18.com: Tuesday, February 28, 2023.

he Allahabad High Court recently set aside an order passed by the Chief Information Commissioner who issued a mandatory direction for reimbursement for the money spent by a Right to Information (RTI) Act applicant on his father’s medical treatment. A bench of Justice Sangeeta Chandra and Justice Manish Kumar held that the order had been passed completely without jurisdiction and in ignorance of the RTI Act and the Rules. 

The RTI applicant had made an application on February 22, 2007, to the Chief Information Commissioner to take stern action against one Special Secretary to the Chief Minister. The applicant had also sought reimbursement of a sum of Rs 1,30,000 as financial assistance to him. A copy of the application was sent to the Office of the Principal Secretary, attached to the Office of the Chief Minister by the Chief Information Commissioner with a direction that some financial assistance be provided to the RTI applicant for spending some money towards the treatment of his father.

The reply also stated that although the applicant had indicated spending Rs 1,50,000 on the treatment of his father, as per the DM’s report, he had been able to submit only bill vouchers worth Rs 21,367 related to some payments made to some private hospital. Thereafter, the Chief Information Commissioner sought the Public Information Officer’s personal presence and on September 5, 2007, he issued a direction that payment of Rs. 21,000 against alleged vouchers produced by the RTI applicant be made. Aggrieved by the order, the concerned Public Information Officer moved the high court. The counsel for the officer argued that the said reimbursement which the opposite parties were praying for could not be granted under the Rules and also it was completely time-barred.

He also contended that the necessary information had already been given to the RTI applicant and therefore, the matter ought to have been consigned to the records by the Chief Information Commissioner. The counsel argued that the order for reimbursement had been passed without jurisdiction as under the Act and the Rules framed thereunder, the State Information Commissioner can only receive and inquire into complaints and hear appeals against orders passed by the State Public Information Officers or impose penalties in certain cases. No such power is conferred on the Chief Information Commissioner to pass an order as has been done in this case of making payment to the RTI applicant, he asserted. 

The Court perused the impugned order and noted that no reason had been assigned at all for passing such an order by the Chief Information Commissioner. The HC highlighted that in the impugned order, the Chief Information Commissioner had only noted that the Under Secretary of the Office of the Chief Minister was present in person and that he had vouchers of Rs. 21,000 that the opposite party no. 1 (RTI applicant) had alleged to have spent on the treatment of his father and the matter had been disposed of with a direction that the said amount should be reimbursed forthwith. Such an order having been passed completely without jurisdiction and ignorance of the Act and the Rules is set aside, the court therefore held.

Over Rs 5,300 cr funds allocated for uplift of SC community not utilized in Tamil Nadu: RTI activist.

The Print: Tuesday, February 28, 2023.

Citing a Right to Information (RTI) reply, a social activist said that Rs 5,318 crore of the funds allocated for the Scheduled Caste Sub-Plan (SCSP) in for the last six years had not been utilized in Tamil Nadu.

The scheduled caste Sub-Plan has been implemented in Tamil Nadu since the financial year 1980-1981, which led to the elevation of the Adi Dravidar people at par with other communities at social, economic and educational levels.

Social activist Karthik obtained the details of Madurai KK Nagar, through the RTI Act, about the funds allocated for the last six financial years from 2016-17 to 2021-22, the amount spent on projects and the unused funds.

According to RTI information, Rs 75,930 crore has been allocated in the last six years. Out of which Rs 70,969 crore has been used for projects and the remaining Rs 5,318 crore has not been used.

A maximum of Rs 2,418 crore was not utilized in the last financial year 2021-22 alone. Programmes are being implemented for the development and welfare of the Adi Dravidar people through 20 implementation departments comprising 48 department heads for the implementation of the Adi Dravidar sub-programme. (ANI)

This report is auto-generated from ANI news service. The Print holds no responsibility for its content.

RTI: State can’t have more than five Info Commissioners.

Tribune India: Vijay Mohan: Chandigadh: Tuesday, February 28, 2023.

The Punjab State Information Commission (PSIC) will not have more than five commissioners according to directions passed recently by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. The Commission, according to notified rules, can have one Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) and not more than 10 Information Commissioners.

This has been revealed in a reply received by a retired Army officer this month in response to details sought from the PSIC on the appointment of commissioners under the Right to Information Act, 2005.

“Keeping in view the work load of the State Information Commission, Punjab, the number of Information Commissioners / Members in the Commission may be reduced to five. However, at present, if more number of Information Commissioners are working then the number may be reduced as and when a vacancy occurs,” a noting sheet attached with the reply states.

PSIC is an autonomous and statutory body constituted under the Right to Information Act, 2005, by the state government through a notification in the official gazette. The members are appointed by the Governor on the recommendation of a selection committee consisting of the Chief Minister, the Leader of the Opposition in the legislative assembly and a Cabinet Minister nominated by the Chief Minister.

A short while before the state assembly elections in February 2022, the previous government had advertised three vacancies for Information Commissioners and the selection committee had recommended the names to the Governor. The file was returned by the Governor as the model of code of conduct had by then come into operation.

On assuming office, the new government had ordered a comparative study of the functioning of the commission in different states. The workload of PSIC was compared to that of the commissions of two states — Haryana and Telangana. At the time of the study, the PSIC had 10 members, including the CIC, while the other two states had six members each. The study, according to RTI documents, revealed that the average annual disposal rate of appeals and complaints per commissioner from August 2021 to June 2021 was 418 in Punjab as compared to 414 in Telangana and 1,214 in Haryana.

The number of appeals and complaints registered and disposed of during the aforementioned period in Punjab was 5,884 and 3,938, respectively. In Telangana the figures were 6,041 and 2,310, respectively, while for Haryana these were 8,683 and 8,596, respectively.

The number of show-cause notices issued during this period were 631 in Punjab, 287 in Telangana and 2,648 in Haryana, the documents show. The move to cut down on the number of information commissioners has also kicked up a debate amongst RTI activists.

Govt ordered study of Panel’s functioning

On assuming office, the AAP government had ordered a comparative study of the functioning of the commission in different states. The workload of the PSIC was compared to that of the commissions in Haryana and Telangana.

File 'missing' for 23 yrs finally appears in 24-hr ultimatum; Family to get compensation

Mathrubhumi: Thiruvananthapuram: Monday, 27 February 2023.
A file that had gone 'missing' for 23 years finally appeared in a 24-hour ultimatum given by Right to Information Commission.
Jayarajan, an officer at Idukki District Medical Officer’s (DMO) office passed away while in service in 2017. However, the family did not receive stipulated compensation over the fact that his service book was missing. The department concerned, in an RTI reply, maintained that the service book sent to Accountant General’s office in May 2000 did not reach back.
For the last five years, the family had been trying to get compensation. They complained about the matter to Information Commission.
Following that the Commission sought a report from DMO’s office. But the latter did not respond. Later, the Commission resorted to evidence collection and found that the service book was returned in July 2000.
Over this, the Commission warned of stringent action against officials concerned if DMO’s office fails to submit the service book within 24 hours.
The officials submitted the service book. It was sent to the health director for related procedures to provide compensation to the family of the deceased.
Meanwhile, the Commission also evoked action against two government officials concerned over the delay.

85% Drop in No. of Senior Citizens Travelling by Train; No Plan for Fare Concession: Railways.

MSN.Com: New Delhi: Sunday: February 26, 2023.

In what may appear as a dent to the Indian Railways, the number of senior citizens travelling by train has dropped 85% between 2019 and 2022, which has pared down the earning from that category by more than 90%, according to the Right to Information (RTI) Act data.

The reply to an RTI filed by News18 shows around 1.2 crore senior citizens travelled by train in the calendar year 2022, generating an earning of Rs 150 crore. In 2019, there were 7.4 crore senior citizen train passengers who earned Railways Rs 1,663 crore in revenue.

The average earning of Railways from each senior citizen passenger was Rs 225 in 2019 that was reduced to half in 2022 to Rs 123. It is also interesting to note that while the number of senior citizen passengers has dipped in the last two years, the earnings of Railways for the period has doubled.

85% Drop in No. of Senior Citizens Travelling by Train;
No Plan for Fare Concession:

The RTI data also showed that between 2019 and 2022, across all categories, the total tickets booked has reported a jump of around 30%, and between 2021 and 2022, it has increased by 12%. In 2019, 42 crore tickets were booked by the railways generating the earning of Rs 36,380 crore. In 2022, this increased to 53.54 crore tickets that generated Rs 47,757 crore in revenue.

Concession for senior citizens stopped since March 2020

In March 2020, with the outbreak of coronavirus, the Indian Railways had announced the withdrawal of train ticket concession for various categories of people, including senior citizens.

During the pre-Covid era, the railways gave fare concession in all classes of Mail, Express, Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Jan Shatabdi and Duronto trains to male senior citizens of 60 years and above and females 58 years and above.

Men were getting 40% concession while for women it was 50%. They had to opt for the “avail concession” option while booking the tickets and they were needed to carry proof of age while travelling.

How much money was railways spending on concessions?

In 2019, just before the pandemic hit, at least 6.2 crore senior citizens opted for the concessions and the ministry had to spend Rs 1,488 crore on these concessions, the RTI reply shows. On an average, the ministry had to spend around Rs 240 per passenger.

In 2020, when the scheme ran for just little over two months, the railway ministry offered concessions to 1.4 crore senior citizens that cost it Rs 346.4 crore, around Rs 245 per person on an average.

Is there a plan to restart the concession scheme for senior citizens?

The Ministry said they will not be giving fare concession to senior citizens again, according to officials.

“We are already giving 50-55% concessions for all passengers. If we do not give any concession, the ticket rate will almost double. There is not much scope for further concession. We also have to take care of the capex. We have expenditures which should be taken care of,” a senior ministry official told News18 on condition of anonymity.

Order withdrawn; HC closes pleas.

Times of India: Kochi: Sunday, February 26, 2023.

Kerala High Court has closed two petitions challenging the exclusion of the T Branch (top secret branch) of the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau, which probes allegations of corruption against the politicians and top bureaucrats, from the purview of the Right to Information Act (RTI). A division bench comprising Chief Justice S Manikumar and Justice Murali Purushothaman closed the petitions after the state government informed that the order issued in January 2016 has been withdrawn in January 2022. Recording the government’s submission, the court said there is no need to delve into the merits of the petitions and closed the cases.

The petitions were filed by advocate A Jayasankar, secretary of the Indian Association of Lawyers, through advocate K Sandesh Raja and CR Neelakandan, representing the state committee of Aam Aadmi Party, through advocate KK Ashkar. Stating that the T Branch investigates complaints and corruption charges against the chief minister, ministers, MPs, MLAs, and top IAS and IPS officials, the petitioners had contended that the government order was aimed at preventing the public from getting information regarding the case investgated by Vigillance anti-corruption bureau against the ministers and officials.

The government order goes against the object and goal of the RTI Act, the petitions had stated. In the judgment (2023/KER/9279) delivered on February 13, the court said the government order rescinding the 2016 order would be treated as part of the court’s records and the submission of the government regarding withdrawal of the order is also being recorded by the court.

Excluding vigilance's top secret branch from RTI: Kerala HC closes petitions

Times of India: Kochi: Saturday, 25 February 2023.
The Kerala high court has closed two petitions challenging the exclusion of the T Branch (top secret branch) of the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau, which probes allegations of corruption against the politicians and top bureaucrats, from the purview of the Right to Information Act (RTI).
A division bench comprising chief justice S Manikumar and justice Murali Purushothaman closed the petitions (WP-C Nos. 12431 and 12824 of 2016) after the state government informed that the order issued in January 2016 has been withdrawn in January 2022. Recording the government’s submission, the court said there is no need to delve into the merits of the petitions and closed the cases.
The petitions were filed by advocate A Jayasankar, secretary of the Indian Association of Lawyers, through advocate K Sandesh Raja and CR Neelakandan, representing the state committee of Aam Aadmi Party, through advocate KK Ashkar.
Stating that the T Branch investigates complaints and corruption charges against the chief minister, ministers, MPs, MLAs, and top IAS and IPS officials, the petitioners had contended that the government order was aimed at preventing the public from getting information regarding the cases investigated by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau against the ministers and officials. The government’s order goes against the object and goal of the RTI Act, the petitions had stated.
In the judgment (2023/KER/9279) delivered on February 13th, the court said the government order rescinding the 2016 order would be treated as part of the court’s records and the submission of the government regarding withdrawal of the order is also being recorded by the court.

60% of voters linked Aadhaar to voter ID: RTI

The Hindu: New Delhi: Friday, 24 February 2023.
Over 60% of India’s 94.5 crore voters in India have linked their Aadhaar number to their voter IDs, the Election Commission (EC) disclosed in a Right to Information response obtained by The Hindu. The total number of voters who have their Aadhaar linked is 56,90,83,090. Tripura, which went to the polls last week, had the highest rate of Aadhaar linking; over 92% of voters in the State have provided their Aadhaar details to the Election Commission.
Some of these voters may have provided documents other than Aadhaar, such as PAN, Driving License, or Passport, to fill out Form 6B, which the EC introduced last year. However, the form primarily demands Aadhaar, and electors can only provide an alternative document after declaring that they do not have an Aadhaar. The Election Laws (Amendment) Act, 2021 was passed to deduplicate electoral rolls by allowing election authorities to collect the 12 digit number from voters.
The per-State percentages given here are based on total voter enumerations released by States and Union Territories in the past three years. After Tripura, Lakshadweep and Madhya Pradesh occupy the second and third spots, with over 91% and 86% of voters having provided the number respectively.
Voters in southern States have not provided their Aadhaar in such proportions, even though they are above the national average. Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka both fell shy of 71%, whereas the number stands around 63% and 61% for Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
The State with the lowest Aadhaar registration by voters is Gujarat, where only 31.5% of voters have linked the document to their voter registration. Less than 34% of voters in the national capital had their Aadhaar linked.

Hunsur CMC officer fined Rs 25,000 for not giving CCTV camera footage to RTI activist

Vartha Bharathi: Karnataka: Friday, 24 February 2023.
The Karnataka Information Commission has fined a City Municipal Council officer here Rs 25,000 for not handing the CCTV camera footage of the Municipality office to an applicant, in violation of the instructions of the Commission.
J B Obaidullah, an RTI activist of the Hunsur Muslim Block, had asked on February 3, 2022 for footage of the CCTV camera at the CMC office, under the provisions of the RTI Act. The activist had also paid the requisite fees to get access to the footage.
The Municipality, however, responded on October 21, 2022 that there was no backup of the CCTV camera footage asked for by the activist.
Obaidullah complained to the Commission about the failure of the CMC to hand him the footage. Also, while the Commission has ordered that applicants be given the information asked for within 30 days of the submission of application, the CMC had not fulfilled the demand of the applicant for more than 300 days. Instead, the Municipality had merely responded that the footage was unavailable.
The Commission, considering this a violation of the RTI Act, has fined the City Municipality officer, Chandru, Rs 25,000.
State Information Commissioner H C Sathyan has ordered the officer to pay the fine in one instalment and return within deadline the fees collected from the applicant for the CCTV camera footage. The officer has also been instructed to submit a report on the matter to the Commission.

What a Faux Pas! When PIO Denies Information for Want of Consent from ‘Deceased’ Third Party: Vinita Deshmukh

 Moneylife: Pune: Friday, 24 February 2023.
A third party clause is invoked by any public information officer (PIO) under the RTI Act if he denies information citing personal information According to it, if a PIO intends to disclose it to the RTI applicant, he could do it only after an okay from the third party.
So far, so good. However, in the case of an aggrieved son, grieving for his mother who passed away after being admitted to the AIIMS Hospital, alleging medical negligence by doctors; his tryst with the RTI led to a near dead-end, as the PIO insisted on third-party clearance.
Though the dead can’t defend themselves, central information commissioner Heeralal Samariya has come to the rescue of RTI applicant Pawan Kumar Goyal. Mr Samariya, in his order of 21 February 2023, observed that the information sought by Mr Goyal qualifies for third-party information, and the same is exempted from disclosure as per Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act, 2005. However, since his mother has expired, Mr Samariya directed the PIO to furnish the relevant information related to his mother only after the applicant has provided the legal heir certificate.
The CIC further ordered the PIO that, “in case relevant information, as sought in the instant RTI Application, pertains to some other Branch/Department, then the PIO should procure and provide the same to the Appellant.”
Mr Goyal sought the following information from the AIIMS: “My mother Sulochana Goyal was admitted to AIIMS on the 25th May 2021 evening and discharged on 26th May 2021. Her Blood Pressure (BP) was on the lower side and yet Intra Aortic Balloon Pump (IABP) was not used and was inducted into her body. Why was IABP not used Please give the treatment chart and all papers related to her treatment in AIIMS.” Mr Goyal rued that his mother expired due to medical negligence and so wanted to know the procedures that were carried out while treating his mother.
The CPIO replied by using Section 11 which mentions the third-party clause and applied it under the Section 8 exemption clauses. He replied, “The requested information related to personal information, disclosure of which has no relationship to any public activity or interest, hence information cannot be provided under Section 8 (1)(j) of the RTI Act.” Even though the patient about whom the requisition was made is no more, the CPIO used the third-party clause.
This section 8(j) states, information that relates to personal information the disclosure of which has no relationship to any public activity or interest, or which would cause an unwarranted invasion of the privacy of the individual unless the central public information officer or the state public information officer or the appellate authority, as the case may be, is satisfied that the larger public interest justifies the disclosure of such information: Provided that the information which cannot be denied to the Parliament or a state legislature shall not be denied to any person.
Mr Goyal went in for a first appeal and, being disappointed with the denial of the information, made a second appeal in May 2022. The CIC hearing was held on 15 February 2023. Mr Goyal complained to the CIC that his mother did not receive “proper treatment from the hospital (AIIMS) due to which she has expired.” He further requested the CIC to direct the CPIO to provide the relevant information regarding the treatment chart and treatment bills of his mother.
The CPIO, during the hearing, stated that the information is regarding the appellant’s mother which becomes third-party information and is exempted under section 8(1)(j). After he was directed by the CIC to provide the information, the CPIO assured him to abide by the orders of the Commission, which is to give information after Mr Goyal establishes his credentials as the son.

Govt Spent Rs. 1379.70 Crores for GST Portal Development and Maintenance, reveals RTI

Taxscan: New Delhi: Friday, 24 February 2023.
In a recent reply to a Right to Information application filed under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) has disclosed that the Government of India has spent a total sum of Rs. 1,379,70,96,763/- (Rupees One Thousand Three Hundred and Seventy-Nine Crore Seventy Lakh Rupees and Ninety Six Thousand Seven Hundred and Sixty-Three Rupees Only).
The RTI Application contained the following questions: –

1. Details of the Amount spent on developing the GST Portal (including infrastructure and software) till launch?
2. How much is the annual/recurrent maintenance expenditure on the Portal?
3. Kindly provide the details of other Operating expenses such as salary, rent, office expenses, internal IT facilities for the Financial Year 2020-2021 and 2021-2022.
4. What is the total amount spent on the GST Portal for Fraud Analytics Tools, security audit and other security functions(as outsourced based on tender) since the Portal was launched?

In response to RTI query as raised by the applicant at Serial No. 1, it was replied that the “total value of the contract is INR 1,379,70,96,763/- which also includes Application Development and Operation & maintenance for 05 years of GSTN Portal.
However, in reply to the remaining questions, it was replied that, “The information sought by the RTI Applicant at S.no-2 to 4 cannot be provided by GSTN as the information sought comes under Section 8(1)(d) of RTI Act, 2005.
It was further stated that the information relates to the GST portal which contains commercially sensitive information and information which is in the nature of confidential information, trade secrets and intellectual property, the disclosure of which can be misused.
The much celebrated new indirect tax regime was rolled out in the year 2017 with a promise to make the tax compliance hussle-free and faster with the use of technology. However, the 5 year old “Good and Simple Tax” turned out to be a nightmare to the taxpayers and the tax practitioners from the very first day of its launch due to the poor development and implementation of the GST portal.
There were a number of occasions where the Government had to extend the GSTR deadlines and waive off late fees and even change the return filing process and norms due to the poor performance and the technical glitches on the portal.
In spite of such a huge expense on development, application development, operation and maintenance, the GST Portal has a long way to becoming the one stop-solution for all Goods and Services Tax related compliances. The technical glitches often caused headaches to the stakeholder practitioner and taxpayers.
In the last 5 years, there have been a number of occasions where the High Courts of different States had to interfere and issue necessary directions to the Government to address the grievances of the taxpayers.
The poor performance of the GST portal in its first year had affected the process of issue to transitional credit where the taxpayers were not allowed to claim the credit after the expiry of one year. Resultantly, thousands of litigations were filed before various High Courts where the technical glitches on the portal were discussed. Finally, the Apex Court came to the rescue of the taxpayers and directed the Government to re-open the portal for those who could not file TRAN-1 and 2 for the reason which was beyond the control of the taxpayers.
Here is a list of Technical Glitches and Portal Bugs that have been reported by taxscan.in over the period of time since the portal was launched that was addressed at various High Courts of the country in the absence of the GST Appellate Tribunal and at the GSTN :–

• Technical glitches in GST Portal: Madras HC directs to file Fresh Application for release of Blocked Funds
• Inability to file Appeal due to Glitches on GST Portal: Offline Appeal shall be Permitted If No Other Method ‘Notified’ by Commissioner, rules Allahabad HC
• Issues in filing of GSTR-3B due Non-filing of TRAN: GST Portal Issues Advisory
• Facing Glitches while Downloading GSTR-9: “Tech Team is Working to Resolve Issue,” says GST Portal
• GST Portal not allowing to Open GSTR-3B for Taxpayers not filed GSTR-1
• Breaking: GSTR-3B Due Date Extended due to Technical Glitches in GST Portal
• Non-Release of Sanctioned Refund in ECL due to Technical Glitches in GST Portal: Andhra Pradesh HC directs to Pay Interest after Re-Consideration
• GST Portal: GSTN advises Taxpayers not to avail ITC on Same Invoice appearing twice in GSTR-2B
• GSTN provides Interim Solution for Incomplete GSTR-2B in Some Cases in GST Portal
• GST is not Taxpayer-Friendly: Bombay HC directs Govt to Fix Technical Glitches in GSTN Soon

This is not an exhaustive list by any means, but just a sneak peek into the extent of trouble faced by the taxpayers and tax professionals.
However, the recent promises of the Finance Minister and actions of the GSTN give hope towards a less messy, more functional GST Portal, ensuring ease of compliance to the taxpayers under the “One Nation, One Tax” regime and finally making the portal worthy of the Thousands of Crores of taxpayers’ money spent on the development and maintenance of the same.

Deal with RTI applications as per prescribed timelines: Delhi HC to NGT

Business Standard: New Delhi: Friday, 24 February 2023.

The NGT approached the high court against the CIC order and argued that the authority had no power to pass such an order
The Delhi High Court has asked the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to deal with RTI applications strictly in accordance with the timelines prescribed under the law.
Justice Prathiba M Singh, while dealing with a matter related to NGT's failure to respond to an RTI plea, said being a national tribunal, its RTI cell ought to function properly.
In view of the fact that the NGT is a national tribunal, the RTI cell of the NGT ought to function properly. Needless to add, the RTI applications received by the NGT in future shall be dealt with strictly in accordance with the timelines and rules prescribed under the RTI Act and RTI Rules, said the court in a recent order.
The counsel for the NGT told the court that now the tribunal has created a proper RTI Cell and the First Appellate Authority. The NGT counsel said the tribunal did not have full time staff in 2013.
The RTI applicant had filed an application in March 2014 and sought disclosure of certain information on appointment to a certain post but no reply was sent by the NGT.
Following appeals, the matter reached the Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) which not only converted it into a complaint but also went into the issue of the NGT's stand of defending the second appeal by engaging an advocate and concluded that the information sought was liable to be disclosed.
The NGT approached the high court against the CIC order and argued that the authority had no power to pass such an order.
The court observed, There can be no manner of doubt that the NGT was at fault in the present case and the non-reply to the RTI application was not an acceptable position.
It, nonetheless, added that some of broad directions given by the CIC, such as to disclose the details of litigation expenditure, could not have been given in the present case and are unsustainable.
The court set aside the CIC order to the extent that it directed supply of information pertaining to details of expenditure incurred on dealing with the RTI application.
It also set aside directions to the tribunal authorities to make it a policy to disclose all results of recruitment test or interview, minutes of committee selecting candidates etc.
The direction to explain why compensation should not be awarded in the present case was also rejected.
(Copy of Judgment) 

Madhya Pradesh: Private schools comes under Right to Information Act, says State Information Commission

Free Press Journal: Bhopal: Friday, 24 February 2023.
In its order, Court of Commissioner Rahul Singh, said, “Schools getting grant from the government through direct or indirect means comes under the Act.
Private schools come under the Right to Information Act (RTI), said State Information Commission on Thursday as it penalised two school officials of education department for misleading people on the issue.
Earlier it was assumed that private schools do not come under the RTI Act, as they were private and the state government did not have any control over their working.
In its order, Court of Commissioner Rahul Singh, said, “Schools getting grant from the government through direct or indirect means comes under the Act. The schools which have taken land from the government on subsidised rate too come comes under the Act.”
The Commissioner also stated that parents of the students had the right to know about school’s registration, affiliation and more.
The Commissioner also penalised two of officers who had failed to provide information related to schools asked under the RTI Act.
An RTI plea was filed seeking information about school’s affiliation. However, government officials refused to provide the information stating that the private school was a third party and did not come under the purview of the Act.
The Commission penalised the then district education officer Rewa and present deputy director Rewa division KP Tiwari and asked them to pay Rs 10,000 to the complainant.
Similarly the Commission has also penalised the then block education officer Tyothar Rewa, Neeraj Nayan Tiwari and directed them to pay another Rs 10,000 to the complainant.

5K crore earmarked for SC welfare left unused by Tamil Nadu govt in last six years

The New Indian Express: Tamilnadu: Thursday, 23 February 2023.
Moreover, the RTI reply also reveals that these departments spent around Rs 8,865 crore of SCSP funds during the last six years for general schemes which benefit both non-SC and SC people.
The state government failed to utilise a whopping Rs 5,318 crore out of Rs 75,930 crore funds, which were earmarked under the Scheduled Castes Sub-Plan (SCSP), during the past six financial years, according to an RTI reply from the Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Department.
Madurai-based activist S Karthik, who filed the RTI application, said the 48 departments of the state government had received Rs 75,930 crore for enhancing the livelihoods of SC people residing across Tamil Nadu. "In the 2021-22 fiscal alone, the government left Rs 2,418 crore unused. Further, the government was provided Rs 16,442 crore for the 2022-23 fiscal year under SCSP, but Rs 10,466 crore was left unused as of December," he said.
Moreover, the RTI reply also reveals that these departments spent around Rs 8,865 crore of SCSP funds during the last six years for general schemes which benefit both non-SC and SC people. "The SCSP, which was introduced in 1980, is being effectively implemented by only a few states. It is unfortunate that even the Tamil Nadu government is not utilising the SCSP funds properly despite having district and state-level welfare officers," Karthik said.
To overcome the deficiencies, the RTI activist wants the principal secretary and director of the Adi Dravidar Welfare Department to hold frequent review meetings with district-level officers, display the list of welfare schemes available for the SC people at all village administrative offices, and update all allocation and expenditure details on the department's online portal.
During the May 2022 Assembly session, CPM MLA M Chinnadurai from Gandhavarkottai had demanded the state government to release a white paper on the expenditure incurred under the SCSP. He had also alleged that a large portion of the SCSP fund was being spent on general schemes. "The state and central governments claim that Rs 1.12 lakh crore has been allocated for the welfare of SC people in the past 10 years. The scheduled caste members' livelihoods would have improved leaps and bounds if only the money was utilised properly," the MLA said.
"About 98% of the SC people are landless and they make ends meet through agricultural or industrial labour. Meanwhile, the scholarship money allocated for SC students is getting swindled, and even the benefits of the free housing scheme are being denied to them in recent months. With the Rs 12,000 provided to them by the government, they can't even construct a toilet. On the other hand, the stringent guidelines for spending money for SC people are preventing the officials from implementing various welfare schemes properly. So, SCSP funds are being used to build common roads and overhead tanks. I have brought these issues to the knowledge of the state government," the MLA said.
When contacted by TNIE for comments on the issue, Minister N Kayalvizhi Selvaraj said she was busy with campaign work for the Erode East by-election. Director of Adi Dravidar Welfare T Anand said all the departments had spent 96% to 97% of the funds earmarked under SCSP.

Sebi moves court over RTI order to disclose information on NSE

The Economic Times: New Delhi: Thursday, 23 February 2023.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India has now moved the Bombay High Court challenging an order of the Central Information Commission (CIC) asking the capital market regulator to provide information on the National Stock Exchange sought by an individual.
At the crux of the issue is a Right to Information (RTI) application filed by New Delhi-based Subhash Chandra Agarwal with Sebi seeking access to annual inspection documents of the NSE from FY13 to FY20. In 2021, Agarwal also sought information pertaining to the role of Sebi in appointing public interest directors at NSE.
The regulator had refused to provide these documents to Agarwal, a businessman and RTI activist, on the grounds that they pertain to the internal functioning of the market ecosystem and their disclosure may hamper the decision-making in its supervisory and regulatory roles.
The CIC, which looks into complaints pertaining to RTIs, shot down Sebi’sargument for not providing Agarwal with the information. In an order dated December 27, 2022, it asked Sebi to furnish the information. Sebi has now moved the High Court against this order.
While the case was filed in the last week of January, it is expected to come for its first hearing in the next two weeks, lawyers said.
Emails sent to Sebi, CIC and NSE remained unanswered.
“The case will be crucial as it would set a precedent for the future on whether Sebi can disclose documents pertaining to exchanges and MIIs (market infrastructure institutions) under the RTI,” said alawyer privy to the development. “Currently, there is no clarity on the topic. Sebi and CIC have been taking interpretations on a case-to-case basis. ”
Sebi had cited Section 8(1)(d) in the RTI Act which allows a public authority to withhold certain types of documents from being disclosed under RTI if the information sought is commercially sensitive or contains intellectual property.
Agarwal had argued that the documents sought had a public interest angle as the co-location scam had a bearing on the system. CIC agreed with the contention and opined if the data sought is in the public interest, it must be disclosed.
The CIC order, however, provided some respite to Sebi. It acknowledged that the documents sought may have certain confidential information. “The Commission noted that full disclosure of inspection reports cannot be allowed. The Commission concluded that only the concluding comments/final findings of the inspection committee be provided to the appellant in public interest,” said Vanaja Sarna, information commissioner, CIC in the order of December 26.

Railways on a Roll with 32% Jump in Earnings from Ticket Cancellation in Last Two Years: RTI Data

News18: New Delhi: Wednesday, 22 February 2023.
The Indian Railways has earned roughly Rs 7 crore a day on an average, thanks to the ticket cancellation charges and non-cancellation of wait-listed tickets between 2019 and 2022, an RTI reply shows.
More than 31 crore tickets were cancelled between 2019 and 2022 that brought Rs 6,297 crore in revenue, that is, Rs 4.31 crore per day on an average, for the Indian Railways.
In the reply to an RTI filed by News18, the ministry further said there has been around 32% jump in the earnings of the railways from the cancellation in the last two years from Rs 1,660 crore in 2021 to Rs 2,184 crore in 2022.
In 2020, Railways got Rs 796 crore from cancellation of tickets, which is about Rs 2.17 crore per day on an average. This increased to nearly Rs 6 crore per day in 2022, that is, Rs 2,184 crore. Since 2020, the revenue generation from ticket cancellation has jumped around three times, the data shows.
NON-CANCELLATION OF WAIT-LISTED TICKETS
The RTI data also revealed that at least 9.03 crore wait-listed tickets were not cancelled in 2019-2022 that allowed the railways to earn Rs 4,107 crore. The earning of the national transporter from the wait-listed tickets that were not cancelled jumped around 2.5 times between the calendar year 2021 and 2022 – from Rs 713 crore to Rs 1,604 crore.
RS 91 CRORE EARNED EVERY DAY IN 2019-22 FROM TICKETS
The RTI also said Railways earned Rs 1.33 lakh crore with the booking of 162 crore tickets between 2019 and 2022. The total tickets booked has reported a jump of around 30% between 2019 and 2022 and about 12% between 2021 and 2022, the data shows.
HOW MUCH DO WE LOSE WHEN WE CANCEL A TICKET?
The cancellation charges depend on the time and the status of the ticket. As per the ministry, if a confirmed ticket is cancelled more than 48 hours in advance of the scheduled departure of the train, a minimum per passenger cancellation charges ranging between Rs 240 and Rs 180 plus GST are deducted at the flat rate depending upon the AC class. For sleeper class, it is flat Rs 120 per person, and for second class it is Rs 60.
Further, if the ticket is presented for cancellation between 48 hours and up to 12 hours before the scheduled departure of the train, 25% of the fare subject the minimum of the cancellation charge for all AC classes and if it is cancelled within 12 hours and up to four hours before the scheduled departure of the train irrespective of distance 50% of fare subject to a minimum of the cancellation charge plus GST applicable for all AC classes.
Also, no refund of fare is admissible on the ticket having confirmed reservation in case ticket is not cancelled or TDR not filed online up to four hours before the scheduled departure of the train.
And in case of RAC e-tickets as well, no refund of fare is admissible in case the ticket is not cancelled or TDR not filed online up to 30 minutes before the scheduled departure of the train.
CANCELLATION OF WAIT-LISTED TICKET
For a wait-listed ticket, the refund of fare is made after deducting the clerkage charge Rs 60 per passenger plus GST applicable for all AC class if the ticket cancelled up to 30 minutes before the scheduled departure of the train irrespective of the distance. However, no refunds are granted on wait-listed ticket after 30 minutes before the scheduled departure of the train.
Further, for the wait-listed e-tickets on which of all passengers are on waiting list even after preparation of the reservation chart, refund is credited to the account from which booking transaction took place after deducting clerkage charges. But in case of wait-list i-ticket, people have to visit the computerised Passenger Reservation System counter up to 30 minutes before the scheduled departure of the train. No refund of fare is granted on wait-listed ticket after 30 minutes before the scheduled departure of the train, the rules say.

Legal dept fails to update civic chief on pending court cases since Nov 2014: RTI

Hindustan Times: Pune: Wednesday, 22 February 2023.
A reply to a query under the Right to Information Act (RTI) has revealed that despite instruction by the then Pune municipal commissioner Kunal Kumar in 2014 to the legal department head making it mandatory to file report of all litigations (by and against Pune Municipal Corporation) on the fifth of every month, it has been not followed since nine years.
The directions were issued to facilitate the civic chief to know about the nature, number and current status of ongoing legal cases.
The RTI application was filed by civic activist Vivek Velankar during the weekly RTI information public access programme.
“The legal department took three months to answer the query. The insubordination exposes the negligence and inefficiency of the legal department at a time when PMC is facing litigation cases of ₹2,000 crore related to property tax,” he said.
Velankar has petitioned PMC commissioner Vikram Kumar to take strict action against the legal department head for not furnishing monthly information related to pending cases.
The PMC legal department, in its written reply to Velankar through a letter dated February 14, 2023, said, “As per the government resolution dated November 19, 2014, the legal department head has not sent the report from November 19, 2014, to September 2022 through additional commissioner to the PMC commissioner.”

Maharashtra govt tells departments to ensure suo motu disclosure under RTI Act

Times of India: Aurangabad: Wednesday, 22 February 2023.
The Maharashtra General Administration Department (GAD) has directed all government establishments to make suo motu disclosure as mandated in the Right to Information (RTI) Act after the State Information Commission (SIC) expressed concerns over the lack of desired voluntary disclosure by public authorities.
The GAD issued a communication to this effect on February 16. The GAD also reminded public authorities about updating the official websites at least twice a year, preferably by January 1 and July 1.
In a letter addressed to GAD on January 10, the SIC, led by the Chief Information Commission of Maharashtra, highlighted that non-compliance with Section 4 of the RTI Act was leading to a deluge of second appeals.
As per the suo motu disclosures under Section 4 of the Act, every public authority is duty-bound to place a large amount of information in the public domain on a proactive basis to make the functioning of the public authorities transparent and also to reduce the need for filing individual RTI applications.
Referring to the letter by the SIC, the GAD directed heads of all government departments in Mantralaya to ensure compliance. RTI activist Vivek Velankar said it is unfortunate that the state government and its departments need to be reminded frequently about the necessary compliance with the enabling provisions of the Right to Information Act in question.
“While the implementation of the Right to Information Act, 2005, is gradually being strangulated in Maharashtra, at least we can talk of suo motu disclosure under the legislation,” he said. “If done proactively, the desired suo moto disclosure would set the regime of transparency and accountability,” Velankar added.

Karnataka: Violating RTI Act, info panel fails to publish annual reports

Times of India: Bengaluru: Wednesday, 22 February 2023.
In gross violation of section 25(1) of Right To Information Act 2005, Karnataka Information Commission (KIC) has not published its annual reports for the past two years, while it has not uploaded reports on its website since 2017.
A complaint in this regard was filed with the governor on Tuesday, seeking his intervention in protecting integrity of the commission.
According to section 25(1) of the Act, a central or state information commission has to compulsorily prepare a report on implementation of provisions of the Act during a year and forward the copy thereafter to the respective government. However, the state commission has not submitted the report for 2020-21 and 2021-22. It is unknown whether it will be publishing one for this financial year. NC Srinivas, chief information commissioner, admitted that the annual reports for 2020-21 and 2021-22 have not been published. He, however, cited non-supply of data from various government departments as the reason for the lapse. "In 2020-21, three departments did not provide data to the commission and 24 didn't do so in 2021-22. I have written to the chief secretary to remind the departments to send the details, but so far it has not yielded results," he said.
The departments have to send data with regard to the number of RTI queries they received, those disposed of/pending and the number of appeals filed, among others.
Asked why annual reports haven't been uploaded on the website since 2017, he said it is not mandatory to do so. The duty of the commission is just to publish reports and submit them to the legislature.
BH Veeresha, RTI activist who filed the complaint, said it is ironic that a commission which is responsible for free flow of information to the public itself is not publishing its annual reports. "The commission has to function transparently. The lack of coordination among other departments is also a reason for non-submission of the reports," he said, urging the governor to intervene.
Lingappa Murthy, former chief information commissioner, told TOI not publishing reports is a gross violation of section 25(1) of the Act and the government can take action against the institution. "It is a serious issue which should be addressed. The reports show how effectively RTI provisions are implemented in the state. The authority which is tasked with the sole purpose of helping provide information to the general public should comply with the law that mandates submission of reports to the government," he said.

The problems with the Data Protection Bill : ANJALI BHARDWAJ, AMRITA JOHRI

The Hindu: Opinion: Tuesday, 21 February 2023.
The Bill must be put through a process of rigorous pre-legislative consultation and redrafted before it makes its way to Parliament
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has drafted a Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Bill with the stated purpose of providing “for the processing of digital personal data in a manner that recognises both the right of individuals to protect their personal data and the need to process personal data for lawful purposes...” A data protection law must safeguard and balance peoples’ right to privacy and their right to information, which are fundamental rights flowing from the Constitution. Unfortunately, this Bill fails on both counts. There are at least four reasons why the Bill must be put through a process of rigorous pre-legislative consultation and redrafted before it makes its way to Parliament.
Diluting the RTI Act
First, the Bill seeks to dilute the provisions of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, which has empowered citizens to access information and hold governments accountable. Experience has shown that if people, especially the poor and marginalised, are to have any hope of obtaining the benefits of welfare programmes, they must have access to relevant, granular information. For instance, the National Food Security Act recognises the need for placing the details of ration card holders and records of ration shops, including sale and stock registers, in the public domain to enable social audits of the public distribution system. In the absence of publicly accessible information, it is impossible for intended beneficiaries to access their rightful entitlement of food grains. This is equally true for delivery of other social security programmes such as old age pensions and scholarships. It is behind the cloak of secrecy that the rights of individuals are most frequently abrogated and corruption thrives. In recognition of this principle, democracies ensure public disclosure of voters’ lists with names, addresses and other details to enable scrutiny and prevent electoral fraud.
The RTI Act includes a provision to protect privacy through Section 8(1)(j). In order to invoke this Section to deny personal information, at least one of the following grounds has to be proven: the information sought has no relationship to any public activity or public interest or is such that it would cause unwarranted invasion of privacy and the Public Information Officer is satisfied that there is no larger public interest that justifies disclosure. The proposed Bill seeks to amend this Section to expand its purview and exempt all personal information from the ambit of the RTI Act.
Further, under the RTI Act, exemptions are not absolute. A key provision for limiting the exemptions is the proviso to Section 8(1) which states that “information which cannot be denied to the Parliament or a State Legislature shall not be denied to any person.” The government has erred in interpreting this proviso as being applicable only to the privacy exemption of the RTI law. There are several judicial pronouncements stating that it is applicable to all exemptions. Based on an incorrect understanding of the RTI Act, this provision is sought to be deleted.
The DPDP Bill needs to be suitably amended and harmonised with the provisions and objectives of the RTI Act. This would be in line with the recommendation of the Justice A.P. Shah Report on privacy that the “Privacy Act should clarify that publication of personal data for public interest… and disclosure of information as required by the Right to Information Act should not constitute an infringement of Privacy.” Neither the recognition of the right to privacy, nor the enactment of a data protection law requires any amendment to the existing RTI law.
Second, by empowering the executive to draft rules on a range of issues, the proposed Bill creates wide discretionary powers for the Central government and thus fails to safeguard people’s right to privacy. For instance, under Section 18, it empowers the Central government to exempt any government, or even private sector entities, from the provisions of the Bill by merely issuing a notification.
Government control
Third, given that the government is the biggest data repository, it was imperative that the oversight body set up under the law be adequately independent to act on violations of the law by government entities. The Bill does not ensure autonomy of the Data Protection Board, the institution responsible for enforcement of provisions of the law. The Central government is empowered to determine the strength and composition of the Board and the process of selection and removal of its chairperson and other members. Further, the chief executive responsible for managing the Board is to be appointed by the government, which gives the government direct control over the institution. The Central government is also empowered to assign the Board any functions “under the provisions of this Act or under any other law.” The creation of a totally government-controlled Data Protection Board, vested with the powers of a civil court and empowered to impose fines up to ₹500 crore, is bound to raise serious apprehensions of its misuse by the executive.
Finally, the Bill stipulates that the Data Protection Board shall be ‘digital by design’, including receipt and disposal of complaints. As per the latest National Family Health Survey, only 33% of women in India have ever used the Internet. The DPDP Bill, therefore, effectively fails millions of people who do not have meaningful access to the Internet.

Whether Cooperative Societies Come Under The Purview Of Sec. 2(H) Of RTI Act, 2005? : Mahi Agarwal

Live Law: Columns: Tuesday, 21 February 2023.
It has long been a matter of debate whether a cooperative society would be subject to the requirements to provide information under the RTI Act and fall under the definition of "public authority" as per Section 2(h) of the said Act.
Before delving into the nuances of the subject, lets understand what a cooperative society is. “A co-operative association is a union of individuals commonly laborers, farmers, or small capitalists, formed for the prosecution in common of some productive enterprise, the profits being shared in accordance with the capital or labor contributed by each.”
Section 2(h) of RTI Act, 2005 provides for the definition of “public authority” to be governed which includes certain requisites to be followed i.e.

1. “any authority or body or institution of self-government established or constituted by or under the Constitution;
2. by any other law made by Parliament;
3. by any other law made by State Legislature; by notification issued or order made by the appropriate Government,

and includes any--

1. body owned, controlled or substantially financed;
2. non-Government organizations substantially financed, directly or indirectly by funds provided by the appropriate Government”.

In interpretation clauses, the phrase "and includes" is frequently used to broaden the meaning of the words or phrases that appear in the statute's body and they must be understood to encompass all that the interpretation clause demonstrates they must include in addition to what they actually mean given their nature and context. In statutory interpretation, the term "includes" is often regarded to broaden the meaning of the words or phrases in the statute's body. In “Delhi Development Authority v. Bhola Nath Sharma”, the Supreme Court clarified the definitions of the words "means" and "includes.", “when such expressions are used, they may afford an exhaustive explanation of the meaning which for the purpose of the Act, must invariably be attached to those words and expressions.”
The government has also clarified time and again that “according to Section 2(h) of the Act all institutions formed by laws made by state legislature is a “public authority” and therefore all cooperative institutions coming under the administrative control of The Registrar of co operative societies are also public authorities”.
The Supreme Court has clarified in a case that “According to Article 12 of the Indian Constitution, cooperative societies that are not owned, controlled, or significantly financed by the State or Central Government, or that were not created, established, or constituted by a law enacted by the State Legislature or Parliament, qualify as "States." However, the existence of several institutions that have complied with legal requirements without being established by or subject to any legislation does not give the entity statutory identity. Numerous institutions are run and kept up to date in line with hazy legal standards.” In another case, the Court observed that the State Government can exercise complete control over the Bank regardless of it operating as a cooperative society, it comes under the purview of the State as specified in Article 12 of the Constitution. In some cases, the courts took a different position as although statutory authorities like the Registrar, Joint Registrar, the Government, etc. are in charge of these co-op societies, but it cannot be said that the State has any direct or indirect control over the widespread and deeply ingrained affairs of the society. Although a co-operative society that is a body corporate may be required by law to be subject to general or supervisory oversight, this does not mean that the body's operations are under the type of State control that would make it a State instrument.
An instrument or agency of the Government is a corporation created by statute or incorporated under the law. It is crucial to think about whether a government-appointed board of directors is in charge of the administration because a corporation may not have any shares or shareholders. It is unclear what the directors' position is even when they are nominated by the government because they may not be subject to supervision. Before concluding that the State controls the Society thoroughly and extensively, it is important to take into account a number of additional relevant factors, such as:

1. How was the Society founded?
2. Is there any evidence of monopolistic behavior?
3. Are the Society's obligations covered by governmental or legislative mandates? and
4. Is it an authorized public body?

Moreover, the courts have illustrated that a poorly inclusive or comprehensive test cannot be created that would provide a sufficient response to this inquiry. The proper split of corporations into those that are instruments or agents of the government and those that are not cannot be determined by a clear-cut formula.
The same rule has been approved in “Ajai Hasia v. Khalid Mujib”, the Supreme Court provided that “while it is essential to give the term "other authorities" a broad interpretation, it should not be stretched so far as to include every autonomous body that has legal standing”. Instead, the Supreme Court stated that these tests for determining whether a corporation can be said to be an instrumentality or agency of the government must be used with care and caution.
Whilst, in this judgement, the Supreme court tried to summarize the tests gathered from the decision in the International Airport Authority's case and the requirements are as follows:

1. “If the entire share capital of the Corporation is held by Government it would go a long way towards indicating that the Corporation is an instrumentality or agency of Government”;
2. “The financial assistance of the State is so much as to meet almost entire expenditure of the Corporation, it would afford some indication of the Corporation being impregnated with Governmental character”;
3. “A relevant factor whether the Corporation enjoys monopoly status which is the State conferred or State protected”;
4. Existence of "deep and pervasive State control;
5. If the functions of the Corporation are of public importance and closely related to Government functions it would be a relevant factor in classifying the Corporation as an instrumentality or agency of Government;
6. If a department of Government is transferred to a corporation, it would be a strong factor supportive of this 'inference' of the Corporation being an instrumentality or agency of Government.”

The Supreme Court in State of “Mysore v. Allum Karibasappa & Ors”. while interpreting Section 54 of the Mysore Cooperative Societies Act, 1959 concluded that “the word "control" was intended to regulate, hold in check, and restrict from acting since it connotes check, constraint, or influence.” In accordance with Section 2(h)(d)(i) of the RTI Act, an organization would not qualify as a "public authority" simply by virtue of the "supervision" or "regulation" it receives as such from a statute or another source. According to the Supreme Court, “the word ‘controlled’ in Section 2(h)(d)(i) of the Act must be concieved in relation to a body that is owned by or substantially financed by the appropriate government, i.e., the control of the body is to the extent that it amounts to substantial control over the management and affairs of the body.”
In Black's Law Dictionary (6th Edn.), the word 'substantial' is defined as “of real worth and importance; of considerable value; valuable. Belonging to substance; existing; real: not seeming or imaginary; not illusive; solid; true; veritable.”[16] One cannot claim the ground of substantial funding by merely taking benefit of the government-funded subsidiaries, grants, exemptions, privileges, etc. that are accessible to the general public regardless of the statutory status. The funding must be so critical to the business that it aids in everyday operations and would be difficult to maintain without it. In the case of “Thalappalam Service Corp. Bank Ltd. vs. State of Kerala” the court established that the “burden of proof lies on the applicant who requests information to demonstrate that a body is owned, controlled, or substantially financed, or that a non-government organization is significantly supported directly or indirectly by the money granted by the appropriate Government.”
The Right to Information Act, 2005 is an Act which provides for access to information under the control of public authorities. However, it comes with certain restrictions, Moreover, in several judgments including “Kharak Singh Vs. State of U.P. and others”, the Supreme Court has also affirmed the legitimacy of the right to privacy as a basic right under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution.
Both of these rights, however, are certainly subject to regulation, restriction, and curtailment where doing so is in the greater good of society.
Over and above that, if the subject of the inquiry of an RTI application with regard to public authorities falls under clause (j) of sub section (1) of section 8 of the RTI Act, such authorities can refuse to divulge information on the premise of the requirement of inquiry relating to personal information whose disclosure is unrelated to any activity or interest of the public.
But the question, what is the way forward? To answer that, the SC provided an alternative, stating that “the Registrar of Cooperative Societies operating under the Cooperative Societies Act is a public authority within the meaning of Section 2(h) of the Act and has been granted a number of statutory powers under the respective Act under which he is functioning”. However, one may not be able to obtain information from cooperative societies which are not owned, controlled, or substantially financed by the appropriate Government. He also has a duty to uphold the requirements of the RTI Act and provide information to a citizen in accordance with the RTI Act. He is endowed with a number of statutory authorities under the particular Act under which he is employed. Therefore, even if a society does not meet the definition of "public authority" on its own, the statutory authorities under the Cooperative Societies Act, which are considered public authorities under Clause (c) of Section 2(h), are required to provide information after obtaining it from the relevant cooperative society.

HC directs IMC PIOs to show claim, objection records of electoral roll

Times of India: Indore: Monday, 20 February 2023.
Indore bench of MP high court ordered the Public Information officers (PIOs) of Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) to comply with State Information Commission direction to provide claim/objection records of electoral rolls to petitioners.
Justice Vivek Rusia in order dated February 14 directed, "At this stage without going into the controversy involved in this petition, the Writ Petition is disposed of with direction to the respondents (PIO's IMC) to comply the order passed by the State Information Commission within a period of 15 days, if the order has not been challenged by them so far."
The state information commission on second appeal of petitioner businessman Dilip Kaushal under RTI Act ordered PIO's IMC to show records of claim/objection on electoral rolls and provide him those lists as sought by him.
The IMC however didn't provide the details forcing Kaushal to file a complaint under section 18 of RTI through which the State commission could penalise officials and direct for disciplinary action into the matter.
The complaint was however not taken up by the state commission. Then the petitioner moved the MP high court through his counsel Vibhor Khandelwal.
Khandelwal submitted that the respondent be directed to allow the petitioner to inspect the public record and thereafter to provide the petitioner with documents marked and chosen by him in compliance, the order dated June 3, 2022 passed by the State Information Commission that would serve the purpose.
Even if the State Information Commissioner passed an order under Section 18 and 20 of the Act, 2005 by imposing the penalty or direct for disciplinary action that would not serve the purpose of petitioner because by that time the information sought by the petitioner will be of no use, submitted Khandelwal. The court accepted the arguments and passed direction.
The petitioner made State Information Commissioner through Chief Information Commissioner, PIO Election Registration Officer, Local Election Ward 1 to 17, IMC, PIO Election Registration Officer, Local Election Ward 18 to 36, IMC, PIO Election Registration Officer, Local Election Ward 37 to 54, IMC, PIO Election Registration Officer, Local Election Ward 55 to 64, IMC, PIO Election Registration Officer, Local Election Ward 65 to 73 T, IMC and PIO Election Registration Officer, Local Election Ward 74 to 81, IMC as respondent in the petition.

Order exempting Anti-Corruption Bureau from RTI ambit revoked: State govt to Kerala HC

The Print: Kochi: Monday, 20 February 2023.
A government order exempting the State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau ‘T’ Branch of Kerala from the purview of the Right to Information (RTI) Act has been rescinded, the ruling Left administration has told the High Court here.
The state government has told the Kerala High Court that it had in January last year rescinded its 2016 order by which the State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau ‘T’ Branch, an intelligence and security organisation, was exempted from the purview of the transparency law.
The submission was made before the court during hearing of two pleas by the Indian Association of Lawyers and the Aam Aadmi Party challenging the January 2016 government order.
The lawyers body and the political party had contended that the State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau ‘T’ Branch was not a security organisation or intelligence agency, and it was purely an investigation unit for probing graft cases against public servants.
The real intention of the state government was to prevent the public from getting information regarding cases investigated by the State Vigilance and Anti Corruption Bureau against its own ministers and officials, the pleas had alleged.
They had also contended that the government order of 2016 was against the object and goal of the RTI Act as well as violative of the fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 14 of the Constitution.
The state government, on the other hand, told the court that the 2016 order was rescinded in January 2022.
In view of the government’s submission, the court said it was not going to delve into the merits of the pleas and closed the petitions. PTI

Rajasthan CM Gehlot pitches for social security law

The Print: Udaipur: Sunday, 19 February 2023.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Saturday demanded Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the enactment of social security legislation so as to provide the same level of pension to widows and old people across the country on the lines of MGNREGA.
Speaking to media persons on the sidelines of the event in Pratapgarh, the Chief Minister said that the Budget announcement by his government is the message that when there is a high cost of living, the government should help the people with schemes.
“Our budget itself gives a big message that if there is inflation and unemployment, then what scheme should the government bring in so that people can get relief from inflation and unemployment. This is what I can do whether it is a matter of employment or it’s a matter of inflation,” he said.
Gehlot further said that every family will get some benefit from the announcement of the budget whether it is a matter of gas cylinders, or it is a matter of health services.
He said that the medical facility is being made free, insurance is being given and many more benefits.
Notably, the Gehlot government has increased from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 25 lakh annually per family for medical coverage under the Chiranjeevi Health Scheme.
“Rs 25 lakh insurance is not available in any corner of the world, which we have done. The medical facility is being made free, insurance is being given and more. Every single announcement we made in our budget was done considering social security because, after the COVID-19 pandemic, people were suffering from pay-cut and layoffs,” said Gehlot.
Rajasthan CM said that he has also demanded PM Modi to propose laws for same-level pension to widows and old people.
“The way Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi bought laws like the Right to Information, Right to Education, MGNREGA, and Food Security Act in the parliament. In the same way, Narendra Modi should bring a law. In social security, old people and widow women get a pension. But some state gives less amount and some give more. We have also now raised the amount. We have got an extra load of Rs 3000 crore, now we have to give Rs 12000 crore and the Central government gives us only Rs 300 crore,” he said.
“So this is wrong. In every state of India, there is a demand for pensions and that is social security for old age people. So, the Central government should bring such a law in the parliament like MGNREGA and RTI, so that all the countrymen who are old and widows should get the same pension. I think this will be a very revolutionary step,” he added.
Chief Minister Gehlot was on a tour of Dhariyawad to inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of 13 important schemes and counted the achievements of his government.
Addressing the public meeting, Gehlot expressed gratitude to the people of the region for the victory of Nagraj Meena of Congress in the by-election.
He called upon the general public to take maximum benefit of the public welfare schemes of the government.
During this, Chief Minister Gehlot also fiercely targeted the central government stating that the state government has been demanding medical colleges from the Modi government for the last several years, but the central government did not pay attention to this, so the Congress government of the state has given three new medical colleges to the state from the budget of the state government for the youth.
He said that the Congress government will leave no stone unturned in the development of the state in the coming times.
Many veteran Congress leaders including Minister Mahendrajeet Singh Malviya, Udailal Anjana, MLA Ramlal Meena, Nagraj Meena and others were present on the occasion. (ANI)

‘No info on decision taken for disability certificate docus’

Times of India: Jaipur: Saturday, 18 February 2023.
The directorate of specially-abled persons in Rajasthan has said that it had no information at which level of the department decisions were taken to submit documents such as caste and income certificates and bank account details along with the application form to get a disability certificate /UDID card issued.
Having said this in a reply to an RTI query, the directorate provided a list of documents required to apply for a disability certificate. The necessary documents are Aaadhar card, Bhamashah ID of the family or the Jan Aaadhar card. Other documents required are domicile certificate, income certificate, caste certificate, APL/BPL/Antyodaya card, and bank account details. The RTI application was filed by Divyang Adhikar Mahasangh (DAM) national vice-president Hemant Bhai Goyal.
DAM has opposed the requirement of caste and income certificates and bank account details to apply for a disability certificate. “On one hand, the government claims it has made certain bureaucratic processes easier for specially-abled persons, and on the other, they are asking for these certificates, making things difficult for them. Why do they need caste and income certificates and bank account details to get disability certificates made?” asked Goyal.
Earlier, the office of the commissioner for specially-abled persons did not give any information in reply to an RTI application about the total amount proposed to the directorate for sanctioning funds under the ‘Mission Tehsil 392’ campaign, which was organised to address the grievances and solve the problems of specially-abled persons in the state.
Replying to the RTI application filed by Goyal, the office said the specifications mentioned in the particular question were not clear. The applicant had also sought copies of note-sheets pertaining to communication exchanged between both the departments in this regard.