The new year is off to a bad start for the state as far as the Right To Information (RTI) Act is concerned. The pendency of appeals under the landmark Act will cross the 20,000 mark on January 1, 2012, thanks to the failure of the Congress-NCP government to appoint the chief information commissioner as well as commissioners for Mumbai and Konkan region. This will be the highest pendency of appeals in...

-The Hindu   The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued notices to the Union Government and the Central Information Commission (CIC) on a public interest litigation by two RTI activists seeking a direction to fill vacant posts of Information Commissioners and the subordinate staff in the CIC. Issuing the notices, a Division Bench of the Court comprising Acting Chief Justice A.K. Sikri and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw directed the respondents to file replies...

Strengthening the arms of the Right to Information Act in a manner that thwarts the government’s procedural antics to stall information regarding corruption and human rights violations by investigation agencies under the garb of confidentiality, the Supreme Court has ruled that a notification issued by a state for that purpose in mind can’t be made effective from retrospective date. In a significant judgment on Monday, the apex court held that the...

-The Telegraph   New laws are often brought in without assessing their judicial and financial impact. The result is poor implementation, says Seetha Call it collateral damage. According to newspaper reports, agriculture minister Sharad Pawar has written to the Prime Minister asking for the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) to be put on hold during the peak season of agricultural operations. With a guaranteed income of Rs 100 a day for at...

-The Hindu   Calcutta University has decided to make available answer scripts to students under the Right to Information Act, university officials said on Monday. “We have decided to give photo copies of answer scripts to students under the Act. Each student will have to pay Rs. 500 for getting his duplicate copy of answer scripts…,” Controller of Examinations Onkar Sadhan Adhikari said. The decision of the university, which had earlier declined requests...