High courts have failed to adhere to the Central Information Commission's directive to follow the Right to Information (RTI) Act rulebook. CIC, the final appellate authority for RTI Act, had ordered all the high courts to disclose complete information of the organisation, employees, salaries drawn, decisions taken and budget allocated, on their websites by April 1. However, not a single high court has complied with the direction. In January, CIC Satyananda...

The housing and houselisting census data do not paint a rosy picture of India in terms of basic amenities for its households. The data on household amenities and assets, released recently by the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, are a stark reminder of the immense disparities that exist in India in terms of basic entitlements such as electricity, sanitation facilities, proper drainage, and clean drinking and...

-PTI The Department of Space has refused to share details based on which punitive action was taken against former space agency chief G Madhavan Nair and three other retired ISRO scientists, saying the matter is before the Central Administrative Tribunal. Nair immediately hit out at the DoS for maintaining "secrecy on a topic which is so widely talked about", and termed it "unheard of and unimaginable". Under RTI, Nair had first filed an...

-The Times of India In a decision that jeopardizes land allocated to corporates and institutions such as Microsoft, Wipro, Infosys, Emaar, Indian School of Business and Lanco, the Andhra Pradesh high court on Tuesday refused to entertain petitions that challenged the power of the Andhra state wakf board to notify 1,650 acres of in Manikonda village of Ranga Reddy district as wakf land. The court asked the companies to approach the tribunal...

-The Times of India   Parents who wish to seek the district education department's help for promotion of their detained ward in the schools will now have to lodge complaint with the department in affidavit. Following the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2008, coming into effect in the district since 2011, several parents have approached the RTE cell of the education department seeking promotion of their detained wards to higher class in tune...