Skip to main content

Govt of India refuses to make public black money reports citing RTI's confidentiality clauses, Parliamentary privilege

By Our Representative
Prime Minister Narendra Modi may have compared his government's efforts to flush out black money with his Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. But the ministries and departments operating under him appear to believe that reports prepared by them on black money cannot be made public because they were covered under secrecy clauses of the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
While an academic study on the subject has been prepared by the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP), the National Institute of Financial Management (NIFM), both under Union finance ministry, in alliance with the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), a non-profit economic policy research institute, the Black Money Special Investigation Team (SIT) has submitted five other reports have been submitted to the Supreme Court.
Replying to an RTI plea by well-known RTI activist Venkatesh Nayak of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), if the Department of Revenue, Union finance ministry, has refused to reveal contents of the academic study saying that the report is “covered” under Parliamentary privilege, NIPFP told Nayak, the academic study is “a classified document and confidential under the terms of the agreement with the Department of Revenue.”
The replies followed Nayak seeking a copy of study reports prepared by NIPFP, NIFM and NCAER on the subject of quantum of black money, as also reports submitted by the Black Money SIT to the Supreme Court of India.
While the Black Money SIT, declared last year a public authority by the Central Information Commission, said it did not have any report on black money prepared by the NIPFP, NCAER and NIFM, among the first to reply, says Nayak, ironically, was the Foreign Tax and Tax Research Division of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) replied the information sought “did not pertain to their office”.
The CBDT’s foreign tax department sent in the reply despite the fact that, notes Nayak in an email alert, his “RTI application was primarily about action taken in India (and not abroad) to inquire or investigate the phenomenon of black money accumulation.”
In its reply, the Investigation Division of the Department of Revenue said that it is only concerned “with investigation of tax evasion petitions”, hence transferred away the RTI application to another division. Nayak comments, “By this reckoning, perhaps black money has not yet become the subject of any tax evasion petition.”
As regards reports submitted to the Supreme Court, concerned officials of the Black Money SIT told Nayak that in all five reports on black money had been submitted to the Supreme Court of India in “an ongoing case”, but “did not respond to the request for a copy of these reports.”
Recalls Nayak, “In the matter of Ram Jethmalani & Ors vs Union of India & Ors (popular as the black money case) the Supreme Court of India had rejected the then UPA government's claim that a confidentiality agreement contained in a double tax avoidance treaty with a foreign country should supersede the citizens' right to know.”
He comments, “Public authorities are now citing confidentiality clauses in domestic agreements to reject access to information.”

Comments

TRENDING

'Draconian' Kerala health law follows WHO diktat: Govt readies to take harsh measures

By Dr Maya Valecha*  The Governor of Kerala has signed the Kerala Public Health Bill, which essentially reverses the people’s campaign in healthcare services in Kerala for decentralisation. The campaign had led to relinquishing of state powers in 1996, resulting in improvement of health parameters in Kerala. Instead, now, enforcement of law through the exercise of power, fines, etc., and the implementation of protocol during the pandemic, are considered of prime importance.

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah*   The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual. 

Bihar rural women entrepreneurs witness 50% surge in awareness about renewal energy

By Mignonne Dsouza*  An endline survey conducted under the Bolega Bihar initiative revealed a significant increase in awareness of renewable energy among women, rising from 25% to 76% in Nalanda and Gaya. Renu Kumari, a 34-year-old entrepreneur from Nalanda, Bihar, operates a village eatery that serves as the primary source of income for her family, including her husband and five children. However, a significant portion of her profits was being directed toward covering monthly electricity expenses that usually reach Rs 2,000. 

Work with Rajasthan's camel herders: German scientist wins World Cookbook Award 2023

By Rosamma Thomas*  Gourmand World Cookbook Awards are the only awards for international food culture. This year, German scientist  Ilse Kohler Rollefson , founder of Camel Charisma, the first of India’s camel dairies, in Pali district of Rajasthan, won the award for her work with camel herders in Rajasthan, and for preparing for the UN International Year of Camelids, 2024. 

Reject WHO's 'draconian' amendments on pandemic: Citizens to Union Health Minister

By Our Representative  Several concerned Indian citizens have written to the Union Health Minister to reject amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR) of the World Health Organization (WHO) adopted during the 75th World Health Assembly (WHA75) in May 2022, apprehending this will make the signatories surrender their autonomy to the “unelected, unaccountable and the whimsical WHO in case of any future ‘pandemics’.”

Golwalkar's views on tricolour, martyrs, minorities, caste as per RSS archives

By Shamsul Islam*  First time in the history of independent India, the in-charge minister of the Cultural Ministry in the current Modi government, Prahlad Singh Patel, has glorified MS Golwalkar, second supremo of the RSS and the most prominent ideologue of the RSS till date, on his birth anniversary, February 19. In a tweet he wrote : “Remembering a great thinker, scholar, and remarkable leader #MSGolwalkar on his birth anniversary. His thoughts will remain a source of inspiration & continue to guide generations.”

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Why is electricity tariff going up in India? Who is the beneficiary? A random reflection

By Thomas Franco*  Union Ministry of Power has used its power under Section 11 of the Electricity Act, 2003 to force States to import coal which has led to an increase in the cost of electricity production and every consumer is paying a higher tariff. In India, almost everybody from farmers to MSMEs are consumers of electricity.

Deplorable, influential sections 'still believe' burning coal is essential indefinitely

By Shankar Sharma*  Some of the recent developments in the power sector, as some  recent news items show, should be of massive relevance/ interest to our policy makers in India. Assuming that our authorities are officially mandated/ committed to maintain a holistic approach to the overall welfare of all sections of our society, including the flora, fauna and general environment, these developments/ experiences from different parts of the globe should be clear pointers to the sustainable energy pathways for our people.

Environmental cost of Green Revolution: India world’s second-highest fertilizer importer

By Glenn Davis Stone*  Feeding a growing world population has been a serious concern for decades, but today there are new causes for alarm. Floods, heat waves and other weather extremes are making agriculture increasingly precarious, especially in the Global South .