S S Sidhu claims immunity under Article 361 of Indian Constitution Governor S S Sidhu who had been directed to appear in person before the Goa State Information Commission on Tuesday over an RTI case said the governor’s office enjoyed the privilege of constitutional immunity and he was therefore not answerable to the courts in matters related to the execution of his duties. “The governor has chosen to exercise his rights under...

“I am scared because my parents are under immense pressure … I just want to get rid of everything,” says Right to Information activist Arun Mane of Pune. Mr. Mane, who registered a police complaint after he was attacked by an unknown assailant on Sunday, withdrew his complaint on Tuesday. In the affidavit given to the Maval taluk tahsildar, Mr. Mane said two of his complaints — about being threatened and attacked...

After a gap of five months, the West Bengal Information Commission held a meeting on Monday. But even as chief information commissioner (CIC) Sujit Sarkar promised to "streamline" things, the panel's performance since its inception in 2005 has been nothing to write home about. Among those who keenly studied implementation of the Right to Information Act, 2005, in Bengal is Magsaysay awardee Arvind Kejriwal. Findings by Kejriwal's Public Cause Research...

The Central government's newly proposed RTI rules make its intentions suspect. GOVERNMENTS which have only superficial commitment to the promotion of human rights often come under considerable pressure from within to impose stealthily restrictions on their exercise. They try to introduce such restrictions without much publicity, seek to execute them in a tearing hurry, and couch them in legal jargon. The Central government's proposal to notify the Right to Information...

Right to Information activist Arun Mane was on Sunday assaulted by unidentified assailants in a village near here, but he escaped with minor injuries, police said. Mr. Mane was attacked with sticks by the group when he went to open his shop at Talegaon Dabhade. The attackers fled the scene when people around raised an alarm, they said. “He has sustained minor injuries and is out of danger,” Superintendent of Police (Rural) Pratap...