-The Indian Express Recently, the prime minister raised concerns about RTI applications encroaching on the right to privacy. At this juncture, it may be worth remembering the case of “Auto Shankar” and his diary. About 20 years ago, an auto driver called Gauri Shankar, who had murdered more than six teenage girls, was convicted and sentenced to death. Before the appeals process was exhausted, he started writing a diary, which was...

-The Hindu A recent Supreme Court judgment and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s openly expressed views in favour of privacy have raised concerns that attempts are being made to dilute the spirit of the RTI Act and limit its use. Aruna Roy and Nikhil Dey, the RTI’s movement’s leading lights, share their worries with Vidya Subrahmaniam. * Seven years after its enactment, has the RTI Act even partially fulfilled its objectives? Has it...

-DNA Dr Manmohan Singh rarely speaks his mind and when he speaks, people listen, as claimed by US president Barack Obama. But this time, a rather reserved-in-speech prime minister is at the receiving end for speaking his mind on the Right to Information (RTI) Act from various quarters. At a recent Convention of Central Information Commissioners, Singh cautioned against frivolous and vexatious use of the RTI. While the debate on the uses...

-The Hindu Prime Minister’s statement has disturbing implications for implementation of the Act, say civil society activists Civil society activists have decided to launch a nationwide campaign in case there are attempts by the Government to dilute the Right to Information Act, 2005. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, while inaugurating the 7 annual convention of the Central Information Commission on Friday, had cautioned against misuse of the transparency law and suggested “the citizens’...

-The Economic Times The RTI Act is undoubtedly a historic landmark and has energised sections of our population like nothing else before. But despite its careful crafting and a well-defined machinery to back it, getting those bits of information, which vested interests within the government wish to hide, are an extremely arduous task. Therefore, I was not surprised when my RTI, seeking simple information regarding the number of foreign trips undertaken...