Gujarat Education Board "sets aside" SC order, has no provision for RTI plea for copies of answer sheets

The Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board, which declared science stream results on May 12, wants those seeking copy of the corrected answer sheets to apply online, pay Rs 300 per answer sheet, allegedly in complete in violation of a Supreme Court order, which allows students to obtain it through a Right to Information (RTI) plea within 48 hours.
Taking strong exception to the Board move, Mahiti Adhikar Gujarat Pahel (MAGP), the state’s premier Right to Information (RTI) NGO, has asked it to follow the Supreme Court judgment of 2011 (SCA 6454/2011) which said that the “answer sheet” falls within the definition of information, and every student has right to seek a copy of the her/his answer sheet “within 48 hours of filing RTI application as per section 7(1) of RTI Act.”
The RTI Act’s section 7(1) wants the information, if it concerns the life or liberty of a person, to be provided within 48 hours of the receipt of the application.
In its letter to the Board, MAGP says, as the Board website does not show RTI link and details of public information officers (PIOs), it needs to clarify how it going to the implement RTI Act. The letter wants the Board to make immediate corrections on its website.
MAGP’s letter to the Board follows several calls it received on the RTI helpline (9924085000) from students and parents, who, it says, complained that “there is no citizen-friendly mechanism for accepting RTI application at the Board office at Gandhinagar.”
Worse, adds MAGP, “Their websites also not showing RTI link and names of PIOs and appellate authorities, as required under Section 4 of the RTI Act.”
Simultaneously, taking into cognizance the fact that the matter concerns the future of students, MAGP has filed a complaint the Gujarat State Information Commission (SIC), the state’s RTI watchdog, under section 18 of RTI Act, which allows an SIC to receive and inquire into a grievance urgently.
MAGP, in a statement, insists, answer sheets do not “fall in the category of fiduciary relationship” and the RTI Act has “the overriding effect over any other rules that exist for preventing information to be disclosed or rules for providing information.”
“The Board is expected to declare by issuing a press note that RTI applications will be received and certified copies of the answer sheets will be provided. The provisions of checking OMR or answer sheets cannot restrict a student’s right to seek certified copy”, Harinesh Pandya of MAGP insists.
“The charge for seeking answer sheet is Rs 2 per page as per provisions of the RTI Act. The Board cannot decide the timeline, procedure and unreasonable prices contravene to the Act”, he adds.
Pankti Jog, who handles RTI helpline, says, “We appeal to students to file RTI application on a stamp paper, or with through court fee/revenue stamp, or by paying Rs 20 in cash on a plain paper. The PIO of the Board should furnish copy or respond within eight hours.”
“Our helpline will help students to file RTI applications. If they do not get response, student can file complaint to Gujarat Information Commission”, she adds.

Comments

Dalit rights and political tensions: Why is Mevani at odds with Congress leadership?

While I have known Jignesh Mevani, one of the dozen-odd Congress MLAs from Gujarat, ever since my Gandhinagar days—when he was a young activist aligned with well-known human rights lawyer Mukul Sinha’s organisation, Jan Sangharsh Manch—he became famous following the July 2016 Una Dalit atrocity, in which seven members of a family were brutally assaulted by self-proclaimed cow vigilantes while skinning a dead cow, a traditional occupation among Dalits.

Powering pollution, heating homes: Why are Delhi residents opposing incineration-based waste management

While going through the 50-odd-page report Burning Waste, Warming Cities? Waste-to-Energy (WTE) Incineration and Urban Heat in Delhi , authored by Chythenyen Devika Kulasekaran of the well-known advocacy group Centre for Financial Accountability, I came across a reference to Sukhdev Vihar — a place where I lived for almost a decade before moving to Moscow in 1986 as the foreign correspondent of the daily Patriot and weekly Link .

Boeing 787 under scrutiny again after Ahmedabad crash: Whistleblower warnings resurface

A heart-wrenching tragedy has taken place in Ahmedabad. As widely reported, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner plane crashed shortly after taking off from the city’s airport, currently operated by India’s top tycoon, Gautam Adani. The aircraft was carrying 230 passengers and 12 crew members. As expected, the crash has led to an outpouring of grief across the country. At the same time, there have been demands for the resignation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and the Civil Aviation Minister.

Ahmedabad's civic chaos: Drainage woes, waterlogging, and the illusion of Olympic dreams

In response to my blog on overflowing gutter lines at several spots in Ahmedabad's Vejalpur, a heavily populated area, a close acquaintance informed me that it's not just the middle-class housing societies that are affected by the nuisance. Preeti Das, who lives in a posh locality in what is fashionably called the SoBo area, tells me, "Things are worse in our society, Applewood."

Global NGO slams India for media clampdown during conflict, downplays Pakistan

A global civil rights group, Civicus has taken strong exception to how critical commentaries during the “recent conflict” with Pakistan were censored in India, with journalists getting “targeted”. I have no quarrel with the Civicus view, as the facts mentioned in it are all true.

Whither SCOPE? Twelve years on, Gujarat’s official English remains frozen in time

While writing my previous blog on how and why Narendra Modi went out of his way to promote English when he was Gujarat chief minister — despite opposition from people in the Sangh Parivar — I came across an interesting write-up by Aakar Patel, a well-known name among journalists and civil society circles.

Remembering Vijay Rupani: A quiet BJP leader who listened beyond party lines

Late evening on June 12, a senior sociologist of Indian origin, who lives in Vienna, asked me a pointed question: Of the 241 persons who died as a result of the devastating plane crash in Ahmedabad the other day, did I know anyone? I had no hesitation in telling her: former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani, whom I described to her as "one of the more sensible persons in the BJP leadership."

Why India’s renewable energy sector struggles under 2,735 compliance hurdles

Recently, during a conversation with an industry representative, I was told how easy it is to set up a startup in Singapore compared to India. This gentleman, who had recently visited Singapore, explained that one of the key reasons Indians living in the Southeast Asian nation prefer establishing startups there is because the government is “extremely supportive” when it comes to obtaining clearances. “They don’t want to shift operations to India due to the large number of bureaucratic hurdles,” he remarked.

A conman, a demolition man: How 'prominent' scribes are defending Pritish Nandy

How to defend Pritish Nandy? That’s the big question some of his so-called fans seem to ponder, especially amidst sharp criticism of his alleged insensitivity during his journalistic career. One such incident involved the theft and publication of the birth certificate of Masaba Gupta, daughter of actor Neena Gupta, in the Illustrated Weekly of India, which Nandy was editing at the time. He reportedly did this to uncover the identity of Masaba’s father.

Search This Blog