-The Hindustan Times The Jammu and Kashmir government’s fresh amendments have rendered the most successful institute of public transparency and accountability, state Right to Information Act, powerless, triggering sharp reactions from civil society and political parties.   Surprised state’s chief information commissioner G.R Sofi accused Chief Minister Omar Abdullah-led government of making unnecessary changes to make state information commission (SIC) a “toothless body”.   “In first place, there was no reason to come up with...

-Greater Kashmir Srinagar, Aug 30: Jammu and Kashmir Government Thursday did away with the detailed Rules guiding the implementation of Jammu and Kashmir Right to Information Act- 2009. The move comes at a time when Jammu and Kashmir Government has been making repeated claims about ensuring transparency and accountability in governance by a strong RTI Act. The General Administration Department today notified new RTI Rules 2012 to replace RTI Rules 2010. The new...

-The Economic Times A presidential pardon can be a fraught proposition with the waiting time for death row convicts ranging from three years to 20 years. Gurmeet Singh from Pipariya village in Uttar Pradesh has been on death row for the last 20 years after being convicted for the murder of 13 family members. Twenty-six years since that dark night when he committed the crime, Gurmeet continues to wait for a decision...

-The Times of India BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha State Information Commission has imposed fines on a public information officer (PIO) for delay in supplying information under the Right to Information (RTI) Act to two different applicants in Sundargarh district. State information commissioner Jagadananda last week imposed the maximum stipulated fine of Rs 25,000 on Goutam Ranjan Bose, assistant fisheries officer-cum-PIO in Sundargarh in one case and Rs 7,500 in another for violation of...

-The Times of India With the political logjam stalling key legislative business, civil rights activists feel that Parliament should be allowed to function to ensure that the government is held accountable. MKSS head and RTI Activist Aruna Roy said that while the issue of corruption was important, Parliament should be allowed to run. "Corruption is a huge issue but there are other laws which will protect people's lives and cub corruption. Political...