Judicial review of executive action is not unique, but the remedy in the CVC case is a departure from the court's record of approach to corruption. THE Supreme Court's decision to declare the appointment of Chief Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) P.J. Thomas as non-existent in law has stimulated much debate. The political fallout of the ruling has been widely studied, with pundits pondering over how seriously it may impact the Prime Minister's...
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Information on corruption can't be withheld under RTI Act: CIC by J Venkatesan
Information on allegations of corruption is not excluded from disclosure under the Right to Information Act, the Central Information Commission (CIC) has held. The information could be furnished by applying the severability clause under Section 10, Information Commissioner Sushma Singh said in an order passed on an appeal filed by Vishwanath Swami, a social activist of Chennai. Seeking information on every purchase made by the Narcotic Control Bureau for office modernisation...
More »RTI used to blackmail govt officials by Partha Sarathi Biswas
A rising number of cases of blackmail of government officers by using the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, are being reported in RTI circles. Some of these cases came out in the open during the hearing of second appeals by the state information commissioner (SIC) Pune, Vijay Kuvelekar, recently. After a particularly gruelling hearing, a gram sevak from Satara broke down before the SIC and revealed that in her village...
More »FCI paid Rs 4.27 cr extra to govt for gunny bags, says audit report by Raakhi Jagga
The Food Corporation of India (FCI) paid additional Rs 4.27 crore to the state government in 2008-09 and 2009-10 towards gunny bags for procurement of paddy. This has been revealed in the latest audit report procured by the Council of RTI Activists through the Right to Information (RTI) Act. Council president Rohit Sabharwal and general secretary Arvind Sharma said though the audit department had asked the FCI to get this payment...
More »Dangerous to know: India's Right to Information Act by Rupam Jain Nair
Soon after he exposed how bricks were bought for six times their value for roads that were never built in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, Amarnath Pandey was shot near his home. The bullet, which he believes was fired by contractors who were benefiting from the brick scam, clipped his ear and grazed his skull, leaving him in hospital for weeks. Pandey, 56, a doctor from Robertsganj, a sleepy city...
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