With a pendency of more than 15, 000 appeals and complaints, the central information commission (CIC) has launched a special drive to dispose of appeals and complaints which are pending for more than 3 months. S V Narayanasamy, minister of state in the ministry of personnel, public grievances and pensions informed this on Thursday as a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha. The minister added that the average monthly...

The government cannot seek exemption of its orders constituting a committee for a specific purpose under the Right to Information Act. The Central Information Commission (CIC) has said that decisions directing the setting of an expert committee cannot be treated on the same footing as that of “Cabinet papers”, which are exempt from disclosure under the Act. Allowing an appeal in a case where the applicant sought to know whether the...

At least 10 RTI applicants have been killed over the past two years, with many others facing threats in their bid to expose corruption On a Republic Day when India celebrated 61 years of justice, equality and liberty, Amar Nath Pandey says he encountered the darkest moment of his life. In late evening on 26 January, a lone assailant leaped from the folds of darkness in the street outside his house in...

And you thought you could get information from the State using the RTI Act? Take your place in the line behind thousands of frustrated citizens The government is considering changes to the Right To Information Act (RTI) that activists feel could dilute the power of the Act. Former Chief Justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan has recommended protecting the judiciary from RTI queries apparently on grounds that the move would “erode” the...

The attempt of the Central Information Commission (CIC), the final appellate authority for implementation of Right to Information (RTI) Act, to bring transparency in the functioning of government departments through voluntary disclosure of information on websites has come a cropper. Of the 1,600 public authorities (government departments, apex bodies, autonomous organisations and ministries) listed by the Commission, only 125 have obeyed its directive and appointed transparency officers. The macro picture...