Consumers will be able to register their complaints online and any delay in complying with the orders of consumer courts could invite a fine of Rs. 500 or 1.5 per cent of the amount of penalty. These amendments, introduced to the Consumer Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2011, will facilitate quicker disposal of cases and amplify the scope of some of the provisions of the Act. The Bill, tabled in the Lok Sabha in the just-concluded session,...

Supreme Court's CPIO asked to give information to RTI activist Subash Chandra Aggarwal in 10 days The Central Information Commission (CIC) has held that all information in possession of the office of the Chief Justice of India is not completely exempt from disclosure under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. “While we concede that due to the stay granted by the Supreme Court [in the assets case], all information relating to the...

The year 2011 saw the highest number of cases disposed of in recent years, with more than 79,000 cases cleared under the leadership of Chief Justice of India S.H. Kapadia. In his Law Day address, Justice Kapadia rejected the allegation made in certain quarters about the huge pendency of cases and said: “There is a backlog of cases. However, it is not as big as is sought to be projected.” Seventy-four...

-The Pioneer   The Central Information Commission has ordered that intelligence agencies like National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO) cannot withhold information under the RTI Act on corruption-related matters and related in-house investigation details. The landmark decision is a serious blow to intelligence and security agencies, which often reject applications under RTI on corruption- related issues. In this case, CIC has directed NTRO to provide information on the in-house probe details on irregularities and corrupt...

The National Campaign for People's Right to Information (NCPRI) on Tuesday questioned the “appropriateness” of the Lokpal and Lokayukta Bill, 2011, in respect of the proposed watchdog's independence, empowerment, jurisdiction and accountability. “The appropriateness of the Bill could well be determined by asking questions such as whether … [the proposed Lokpal] is adequately independent of the government, whether it is adequately empowered to detect, investigate and prosecute cases of corruption, had...