-DNA "Frivolous and vexatious” — these were the words that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh used while addressing this year’s edition of the annual Right To Information (RTI) convention. His choice of words raises several disturbing questions. The PM conveniently ignored the fact that there is no legal definition of what constitutes “frivolous and vexatious” and there is unlikely to be one in the future. Will one person’s understanding of “frivolous” be...

-The Hindu On the occasion of the seventh anniversary of the Right to Information Act, 2005, RTI activists from 16 States came together on Thursday at a public hearing on the Act and appealed to the Union government and Parliament to review the Supreme Court judgment on appointment of Information Commissioners. They called for the review as the judgment “fails” to deal with several important aspects of implementation of the Act....

-Outlook The venom and aggression with which Congress leaders are responding to a simple question first regarding Mrs Sonia Gandhi and now regarding Mr Robert Vadra proves yet again, if any proof were required, that Congressmen and women are convinced there is a lot to hide  The venom and aggression with which Congress leaders are responding to a simple question being asked first regarding the foreign travels of Mrs Sonia Gandhi and...

-Outlook The Supreme Court has ruled that the details of a person's income tax returns and performance of an employee are "personal information" which cannot be divulged under the provisions of the Right to Information Act unless a larger public interest is involved. The apex court added that under the transparency law, information pertaining to the performance of an employee or officer cannot be made public as it is a matter between...

-The Indian Express Notwithstanding the recent Supreme Court judgment re-drawing their eligibility criteria, Attorney General G E Vahanvati has said that the central and state information commissioners can continue for now. According to him, the SC ruling will be operative with prospective effect, but the government should not delay its review petition as the apex court’s decision is capable of creating “disarray” in their functioning. In his opinion submitted to the government...