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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Whistleblowers at risk? Activists protest as govt prepares to notify new RTI rules -Chetan Chauhan

Whistleblowers at risk? Activists protest as govt prepares to notify new RTI rules -Chetan Chauhan

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published Published on Apr 29, 2017   modified Modified on Apr 29, 2017
-Hindustan Times

New Delhi: The government is all set to notify a new set of Right to Information rules that will allow appeals to be withdrawn and, according to activists, put the lives of whistleblowers in danger.

The government is all set to notify a new set of Right to Information (RTI) rules that will allow appeals to be withdrawn and, according to activists, put the lives of whistleblowers in danger.

The Central Information Commission (CIC) had challenged a Delhi high court order nullifying a number of regulations it issued in 2007. During the hearing, the Centre gave an undertaking that new RTI rules would be notified in consultation with the information watchdog soon. The case will be heard on May 2.

RTI activists have vehemently protested against the move, stating that it would weaken the only law that empowers citizens to question the government. “The most dangerous aspect of the new rule is abatement (lapse without any action being taken) in case of the applicant’s death. This is in clear violation of the 2011 resolution of the CIC vis-à-vis the proactive disclosure of information sought by the applicant after his or her death. The new rule will nullify the 2011 resolution,” said Ventakesh Nayak of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative.

Activists also expressed concern over a provision that allowed applicants to withdraw their appeals before the CIC. “This will only help individuals against whom the information is being sought to pressurise applicants into withdrawing their appeals. The authorities can also use this to harass applicants,” said National Campaign for People’s Right to Information (NCPRI) member Anjali Bhardwaj, demanding that the government drop the provision.

The draft rule issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has raised manifold concerns at a time when new data confirms the murder of 65 RTI applicants and assault on 400 others since 2005 – when the RTI law came into force.

The Centre had told the Supreme Court earlier this year that it was in the process of framing new rules for regulating the transparency law.

The NCPRI, which recommended changes in each section of the draft rule, also asked the DoPT to make public the reasons for not accepting the response to the draft rules in accordance with the RTI Act. Tuesday was the last day for submitting the response.

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Hindustan Times, 26 April, 2017, http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/whistleblowers-at-risk-activists-protest-as-govt-prepares-to-notify-new-rti-rules/story-MPoO0eUqrvtviw06RD4qyI.html


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