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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Telling Escape by Chandrani Banerjee

Telling Escape by Chandrani Banerjee

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published Published on May 7, 2011   modified Modified on May 7, 2011

Soon, RTI won’t get info out of the CBI

Mirror Turns Opaque

    * CBI proposes an exemption from giving information under RTI
    * Law ministry gives it green signal based on Gopal Subramanium’s opinion
    * All it requires is a department of personnel and training (DoPT) notification to get an exemption
    * Activists fear agencies will use this to deny citizens information

***

Will the CBI be allowed not to divulge details under the Right to Information Act? Going by the Union law ministry’s advice, it may soon be exempt from answering queries under RTI. The agency had put up a request in February to the department of personnel and training (DOPT) to this effect. Its plea was forwarded to the law ministry for its opinion.

The latter deems that the investigating agency is fit to be allowed exemption under Section 24 of Schedule (2) of the RTI Act, 2005. Solicitor-general Gopal Subramanium, who gave the ministry his opinion on this regard, says, “I have tried to balance it out with the fundamental right to know and accountability. The agency deals with delicate issues and there is certain information that is above the institution and individuals. Therefore, it is appropriate to allow the agency to be out of the RTI ambit. Section 24 of the RTI Act provides special provisions. That has been taken into account.”

What is this section 24 of the act? It says that all citizens shall have the right to information on everything except categories involving security, strategic, scientific and economic interests and other classified secrets. The police shall restrict the right to information within the ambit of the maintenance of public order and crime and investigation.

Activists say the idea of exempting the CBI from giving information comes at a time when it has already turned down several important RTI queries. The agency recently refused to disclose details on complaints against former CJI K.G. Balakrishnan. The National Human Rights Commission chairperson has been in a controversy over declaration of assets and liabilities. There was increased pressure on him to declare his assets after his son-in-law faced allegations of having assets disproportionate to his known sources of income. He had also acquired properties during Balakrishnan’s tenure as CJI. The CBI has admitted that it received two complaints against Balakrishnan. Its Chennai bureau dismissed one complaint citing “vague and unverifiable” allegations and forwarded the second to the New Delhi office.

RTI activist S.C. Agarwal had sought information on complaints against retired judges of the apex and high courts, including former CJIs Y.K. Sabharwal and Balakrishnan. Incidentally, both the law ministry’s department of justice and the CVC have disclosed CBI’s closure report on a complaint against Sabharwal. “The provisions under Section 24 allow disclosing the information sought in cases of corruption. However, investigating agencies have been using it as a shield (by citing security and strategic reasons) for rejecting RTI queries. With the latest move of the law ministry, they will hardly share any information,” says Agarwal.

Earlier, the CBI had refused to reveal information on Ottavio Quattrocchi following an RTI application filed by advocate Ajay Agrawal seeking all documents, notings and files pertaining to the defreezing of the businessman and his wife’s accounts in London. The CBI said it would “impede” the prosecution of the accused and went on to close the case subsequently. Agrawal, who has opposed the closure of the case in the apex court and trial court, had also sought all information including advices, opinions and notings of law officers as well as CBI’s officers who allegedly favoured him, leading to the withdrawal of the red corner notice against him in November 2008.

Things will only get more opaque if the DOPT notifies the law ministry’s advice. It will make accessing any information from the CBI next to impossible, and will also water down RTI itself.


Outlook, 16 May, 2011, http://outlookindia.com/article.aspx?271695


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