-Tehelka A public issue is not truly public unless Markandey Katju has passed judgement. Rahul Kotiyal and Ajachi Chakrabarti stand downwind "Journalists" writes Markandey Katju, with little sense of irony, "comment on everything under the sun." He goes on to say that when the shoe is on the other foot, when someone comments on journalism, it is misconstrued as an attack on press freedom. That when he announces he is appointing a...

-The Hindu Under Section 8 (1) (a), information can be denied on grounds of national security Bangalore: It is hard to imagine that any information preserved in the Karnataka State Archives on the Bababudangiri shrine in Chikmagalur could potentially threaten national security or incite a breach of the law. However, a reply given by the Directorate, Karnataka State Archives, to a Right to Information (RTI) query suggests that it does. In his RTI application...

-The Hindu The Government of India took a major step forward in enabling Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) to file applications under the Right to Information Act this week, announcing that it has launched a service called "elPO," or Electronic Indian Postal Order. Using this, NRIs across the world may now be in a position to file RTI applications conveniently via direct payment of fees for the same. According to an Office Memorandum put...

-The Indian Express Researcher Meenal Rege has returned a cheque for Rs 1,000 to the office of the Pune bench of State Information Commission (SIC). This is the second time she is doing so. Rege says the cheque, sent to her by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) as a compensation on the SIC's order after she was denied information under the Right to Information Act, 2005, had "added insult to my...

-The Indian Express With the Union cabinet having approved the Right of Citizens for Time Bound Delivery of Goods and Services and Redressal of their Grievances Bill, 2011 (hereafter referred to as the GR bill), Parliament has an opportunity to enact a law that would give citizens a way in which to hold government functionaries accountable. An effective GR act has the potential to transform the relationship between an ordinary Indian...