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Sunday, March 24, 2024
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Right to Information! How much?

   

rights front in the state because the security agencies are having the benefit of stronger laws like AFSPA, which provide them the impunity,” he says. “One may be able to get details like FIR reports and other such documents but not beyond that.” Imroz adds the Information Commission will be “one more body like headless women’s commission and toothless State Human Rights Commission, whose existence has not benefited the way government promised.”

Parvez Imroz

He says security agencies can withhold information on many pretexts. Activists have urged the state government to make the new act stronger than the central RTI Act, with concrete provisions to help curb human rights violations and make security agencies more accountable.

The state legislature has the authority to make the law stronger than the central act.

Shah says that before passing any such law, the government should have initiated an open debate to see how this law can be made more effective. He is not content with the government publishing proposed law on internet, asking for suggestions.

“The government should have invited people from intelligentsia, human rights activists, media, lawyers and people’s representative to discuss the new law threadbare,” says Shah. “As the law has to be used by common men, it has to be user friendly, effective and meet their expectations that too in a conflict zone like ours.” The central RTI act also has its loopholes, and activists want the state to avoid those in the proposed law.

The new state RTI law has proposed a definite time limit on second appeals and complaints which the Information Commission is required to adjudicate. The deadline has been put at 60 days with further possible extension up to 120 days under valid reasons. The Central RTI Act does not stipulate such a deadline. As a result complaints and appeals of the second level have piled up before Information Commissions for years.  The state law also proposes to empower the appellate authority of the first level to refer to the Information Commission any instance of violation of the law by a Public Information Officer (PIO). The Central RTI Act does not place such an obligation on the appellate authorities of the first level. Consequently, the burden of moving the Information Commission to penalise a PIO for any transgression of the law is on the aggrieved applicant The proposed law has its shortcomings too. The draft bill states that all ‘citizens’ shall have the right to seek and obtain information.

Muzaffar Bhat Convener JK RTI Movement

Bhat says, “Instead of a citizen it should refer to as a ‘person’ as it will help non-resident Kashmiris, representatives of organisations, associations, companies and firms to access information without any difficulty, as happens in other western countries.”  The draft Bill also requires the payment of two kinds of fees – one at the application stage and another for providing information, which can cause unnecessary delays and has the potential to be misused. CHRI has recommended that the law should provide for the collection of only actual reproduction costs for the information requested.

The existing RTI Act excludes seven categories of information from disclosure. This is a blanket restriction and the public body need not give any reasons to applicants for not disclosing information covered by these categories. Additionally, under Section 6(2) of the Act, the public body may withhold eleven categories of information after giving reasons for the same in writing. The Act seems more designed to deny access to information to citizens rather than facilitate access as it keeps 18 types of information held by public bodies beyond their reach. There is no requirement on the public body to disclose information if it serves the larger interest better despite being covered by one or more of the exemptions. All 18 types of information will be kept out of public scrutiny till eternity.

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Shams Irfan
Shams Irfan
A journalist with seven years of working experience in Kashmir.

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