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RTI under attack by V Eshwar Anand


EVEN though the Right to Information Act guarantees citizens their right to know and expose corruption in government offices, increasing attacks on RTI activists have put this most important right in jeopardy. The RTI Act was enacted after a long struggle by civil rights organisations. However, those who dare question the ways of the powers that be and expose them are eliminated in cold-blooded murders.

The manner in which Amit Jethwa was shot dead by unidentified men in point blank range near the Gujarat High Court in Ahmedabad on July 20, 2010, is shocking. His fault? He fought against the illegal mining lobby in the Gir forest. After Amit had filed a public interest litigation (PIL) against the mafia, it is said that the authorities had started taking action against it. His murder is thus considered a big loss to the RTI movement.

Amit formed a nature club for youth in Gir. In 2008, he had brought to the authorities’ attention the mysterious death of lions after which an inter-state poaching gang was caught from Madhya Pradesh. The gang had reportedly killed nearly 25 Asiatic lions in the Gir sanctuary. Unfortunately, Amit is one of the eight RTI activists killed this year alone.

The RTI is a facet of and underlies all fundamental rights whether it be equality, liberty or any of the seven freedoms guaranteed to citizens under the Constitution as also the social, economic and political justice referred to in the Preamble to the Constitution. For, if enforced properly, the Act can act as a check against the misuse of power by those who are constitutionally bound to ensure the realisation of these rights.

Its importance can be gauged by the fact that when labourers at Rajasthan’s famine relief sites demanded minimum wages on public works, they were refused the same on the ground that according to the concerned engineer’s measurement book, “they did not work”. Worse, the authorities refused to even allow the labourers to see the book saying that it was prohibited under the Official Secrets Act!

It was at this juncture that Aruna Roy’s Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan spearheaded the movement for RTI and organised public rallies in which outsiders were also invited. This resulted in timely payment of wages and action against several government employees for embezzlement of funds.

Subsequently, organisations like the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, the National Campaign on the People’s Right to Information, the Association for Democratic Reforms, academics, lawyers and legislators campaigned for a legislation to allow access to information from the government and its officers. RTI laws were enacted by Tamil Nadu (1997), Goa (1997), Rajasthan (2000), Karnataka (2000), Delhi (2001), Maharashtra (2002), Assam (2002), Madhya Pradesh (2003), and Jammu and Kashmir (2004). As for the Centre, it made a feeble attempt in the form of the Freedom of Information Act, 2002. However, while it drew flak for too many exemptions, it never came into effective force.

After sustained public pressure, Parliament finally enacted the RTI Act in 2005. Despite its initial successes, the legislation has come under severe attack as its activists are facing a big threat from the powerful mafia with political clout and vested interests.

The question of protection of whistleblowers caught the nation’s attention when Satyendra Dubey, engineer and project director of the National Highways Authority of India, was killed in Gaya, Bihar, in 2003. He had to pay a very heavy price for having complained to the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee about corruption in the construction works of the prestigious project.

Surprisingly, though Dubey appealed to the Prime Minister to keep his name confidential, his letter, in a typical case of bureaucratic callousness, was forwarded to various departments concerned. In April 2004, the Supreme Court directed the government to issue an office order, the Public Interest Disclosures and Protection of Informers’ Resolution, 2004, designating the Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) as the nodal agency to handle complaints on corruption.

However, the murder of Manjunath Shanmugham, an IIM graduate and Indian Oil Corporation sales manager, for having exposed the mafia’s role in petrol adulteration shook the nation’s conscience and brought renewed focus on the need for a law on protecting the whistleblowers.

The Union Cabinet’s clearance of the Public Interest Disclosure (Protection of Informers) Bill, 2010, on August 9 is a forward step. This will become an Act after its passage by Parliament and the Presidential assent.

The Act, after due enactment, will put the onus on the CVC to protect the identity of citizens (by extension, RTI activists and whistleblowers) who provide information about the misuse of public money and authority. The CVC will have the powers of a civil court, including the authority to summon anybody, order police investigation and protect the whistleblowers. Significantly, the Bill empowers the CVC to take action against those who reveal the identity or even threaten whistleblowers. The CVC will be able to take action against anyone who makes frivolous complaints.

At the same time, there is a strong case for making the legislation more broadbased. The nexus between corrupt politicians and bureaucrats is well known. Why not include politicians as well in the Bill? As for the CVC’s power to issue summons, the law must ensure that the police does not create hurdles.

Moreover, keeping in view the global experience, especially in the US (with special reference to the Sarbans-Oxley Bill in 2002 that extended protection to insiders who expose corporate fraud), the new Bill should provide access to suitable legal help. As most whistleblowers are witnesses themselves, a proper witness protection programme will go a long way in making the new legislation realistic and meaningful.

The Bill is well intended. However, given the government’s poor track record, it is doubtful to what extent it would help protect the whistleblowers. Consequently, its success will depend upon the establishment of a credible mechanism in the CVC for fair investigation of complaints and ensuring complete anonymity of the whistleblowers against any retaliatory action.

Those who laid down their lives this year

* Satish Shetty, Talegaon near Pune, Maharashtra, was killed for his campaign against the land mafia in certain corrupt deals in the Mumbai-Pune expressway. (January 13)

* Visharam Laxman Dodiya, a Surat-based shopkeeper following his refusal to withdraw an RTI application seeking information on illegal electricity connections in Surat city. (February 11)

* Shashidhar Mishra, Begusarai, Bihar for exposing corruption at the panchayat and block levels. (February 14)

* Arun Sawant, Badalpur, Thane, Maharashtra for filing an RTI application with the Badlapur Municipal Council. (February 26)

* Sola Ranga Rao, Sitaram village, Krishna district, Andhra Pradesh, for his complaint to the District Collector on the funding of the village’s drainage system. (April 11)

* Vitthal Gite, Beed, Maharashtra for exposing irregularities in a Beed village school. (April 21)

* Dattatray Patil, Kolhapur, Maharashtra. He had unearthed a corruption racket which resulted in the removal of the area’s DSP, a senior police inspector and officials of the Ichalkaranji Corporation. (May 22)

* Amit Jethwa, Ahmedabad, Gujarat for his campaign against the illegal mining lobby in the Gir forest area. (July 20)

The proposed law: A new hope?

* The new legislation will put in place a system to handle complaints against government functionaries by persons who wish to remain anonymous.

* It empowers any person to make a complaint of corruption or disclosure against any employee of the Central or state government or public sector undertaking to the Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC).

* The CVC, the nodal authority, which is to be designated as the competent authority for complaints, will have the powers of a civil court, including powers to summon anybody, order police investigation and provide security to the whistleblower.

* The CVC will not reveal the complainant’s identity but will have the authority to ignore complaints of vexatious or frivolous nature.

* The CVC cannot investigate complaints pertaining to matters which are sub judice, prejudicial to the security of the defence establishments, international relations, proceedings of the Union Cabinet or those beyond the limitation period of five years.