Unconstitutional? Gujarat information commissioner bars 3 from filing RTI pleas

By Pankti Jog*
In a surprise move, Gujarat’s Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) has superseded the Right to Information (RTI) Act, asking a public authority not to accept any RTI applications from three citizens for five years. CIC, Gujarat, DP Thakar, issued an order at a scheduled hearing regarding complaint filed by Chintanbhai, Bharatiben and Dilhariben, banning them from making RTI applications for seeking information for five years.
Issued on January 5, 2021, the order claims the ban has been imposed because the applicants had repeatedly used RTI to pressurize government officials. The order tells the primary health centre (PHC) public information officer (PIO), Jesar, and the chief district health officer (CDHO) Bhavnagar, (appellate authority) not to accept or entertain any RTI plea or appeal for the three citizens from the date the order was issued for the next five years.
This is the first time in RTI’s history in India when an information commissioner has banned any citizen from seeking information from a public authority. As per the RTI Act, an information commissioner has power to only impose penalty or recommend departmental inquiry against a PIO if PIO fails to furnish information. But there is no provision in the Act which bans a citizen from using RTI to seek information.
The order is unconstitutional, as the RTI Act has been passed by Parliament, and under the law, there is no power with any state or Central information commissioner to prevent any citizens from filing RTI or to ask any public authority not to implement the law. The CIC, Gujarat, has misinterpreted a Delhi High Court order, which he has quoted in order to deny a citizen’s lawful right of seeking information. There is nothing in the High Court order justifying such a move.

DP Thakar

In the order on Shail Sahni vs Sanjeev Kumar and Ors, dated February 5, 2014, Justice Manmohan merely observed, "This Court is of the view that misuse of the RTI Act has to be appropriately dealt with, otherwise the public would lose faith and confidence in this 'sunshine Act. A beneficent Statute, when made a tool for mischief and abuse must be checked in accordance with law."
The Gujarat CIC’s order will give free hand to deny information to public authorities in the state. The RTI helpline (9924085000), run by the Mahiti Adhikar Gujarat Pahel (MAGP), has been receiving calls over the last few months, wherein citizens have been complaining that they are being threatened by officials of the State Information Commission not to make repeated RTI pleas or appeals, or else they would be banned from using the RTI Act.
The RTI Act has no provisions to prevent citizen from filing RTI or making an appeal with a public authority. As Gujarat CIC’s order is unconstitutional, MAGP has appealed to the Gujarat Information Commission (GIC) to immediately withdraw it. The order reveals incompetence on the part of those handling GIC in interpreting the RTI Act, as also ignorance about the Act. The Gujarat CIC is incompetent in fulfilling the responsibility given by the Act.
Such an approach of GIC will not only mislead public authorities for denying information but will also make RTI ineffective. If a citizen violates a law, the state is competent enough to take action against her or him under appropriate legal provisionis. But the commission cannot prevent implementation of the RTI Act passed by Parliament by merely citing an incident.
Parliament of the country, through the RTI Act, has sought to protect and enhance citizens’ right to seek information and making governance transparent. MAGP expects that GIC would proactively fulfill its responsibility.
---
*Executive secretary, Mahiti Adhikar Gujarat Pahel, Gujarat

Comments

How Hindutva and the Taliban mirror each other in power and ideology

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak* The recent visit of Taliban-appointed Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi to India and the warm reception extended to him by the Modi government have raised questions about India’s foreign policy direction. The decision appears to lend legitimacy to the Taliban regime, which continues to suppress democratic aspirations in Afghanistan.

History, culture and literature of Fatehpur, UP, from where Maulana Hasrat Mohani hailed

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* Maulana Hasrat Mohani was a member of the Constituent Assembly and an extremely important leader of our freedom movement. Born in Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh, Hasrat Mohani's relationship with nearby district of Fatehpur is interesting and not explored much by biographers and historians. Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri has written a book on Maulana Hasrat Mohani and Fatehpur. The book is in Urdu. He has just come out with another important book, 'Hindi kee Pratham Rachna: Chandayan' authored by Mulla Daud Dalmai.' During my recent visit to Fatehpur town, I had an opportunity to meet Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri and recorded a conversation with him on issues of history, culture and literature of Fatehpur. Sharing this conversation here with you. Kindly click this link. --- *Human rights defender. Facebook https://www.facebook.com/vbrawat , X @freetohumanity, Skype @vbrawat

N-power plant at Mithi Virdi: CRZ nod is arbitrary, without jurisdiction

By Krishnakant* A case-appeal has been filed against the order of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and others granting CRZ clearance for establishment of intake and outfall facility for proposed 6000 MWe Nuclear Power Plant at Mithi Virdi, District Bhavnagar, Gujarat by Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) vide order in F 11-23 /2014-IA- III dated March 3, 2015. The case-appeal in the National Green Tribunal at Western Bench at Pune is filed by Shaktisinh Gohil, Sarpanch of Jasapara; Hajabhai Dihora of Mithi Virdi; Jagrutiben Gohil of Jasapara; Krishnakant and Rohit Prajapati activist of the Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued a notice to the MoEF&CC, Gujarat Pollution Control Board, Gujarat Coastal Zone Management Authority, Atomic Energy Regulatory Board and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and case is kept for hearing on August 20, 2015. Appeal No. 23 of 2015 (WZ) is filed, a...

Celebrating 125 yr old legacy of healthcare work of missionaries

Vilas Shende, director, Mure Memorial Hospital By Moin Qazi* Central India has been one of the most fertile belts for several unique experiments undertaken by missionaries in the field of education and healthcare. The result is a network of several well-known schools, colleges and hospitals that have woven themselves into the social landscape of the region. They have also become a byword for quality and affordable services delivered to all sections of the society. These institutions are characterised by committed and compassionate staff driven by the selfless pursuit of improving the well-being of society. This is the reason why the region has nursed and nurtured so many eminent people who occupy high positions in varied fields across the country as well as beyond. One of the fruits of this legacy is a more than century old iconic hospital that nestles in the heart of Nagpur city. Named as Mure Memorial Hospital after a British warrior who lost his life in a war while defending his cou...

New RTI draft rules inspired by citizen-unfriendly, overtly bureaucratic approach

By Venkatesh Nayak* The Department of Personnel and Training , Government of India has invited comments on a new set of Draft Rules (available in English only) to implement The Right to Information Act, 2005 . The RTI Rules were last amended in 2012 after a long period of consultation with various stakeholders. The Government’s move to put the draft RTI Rules out for people’s comments and suggestions for change is a welcome continuation of the tradition of public consultation. Positive aspects of the Draft RTI Rules While 60-65% of the Draft RTI Rules repeat the content of the 2012 RTI Rules, some new aspects deserve appreciation as they clarify the manner of implementation of key provisions of the RTI Act. These are: Provisions for dealing with non-compliance of the orders and directives of the Central Information Commission (CIC) by public authorities- this was missing in the 2012 RTI Rules. Non-compliance is increasingly becoming a major problem- two of my non-compliance cases are...

Urgent need to study cause of large number of natural deaths in Gulf countries

By Venkatesh Nayak* According to data tabled in Parliament in April 2018, there are 87.76 lakh (8.77 million) Indians in six Gulf countries, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). While replying to an Unstarred Question (#6091) raised in the Lok Sabha, the Union Minister of State for External Affairs said, during the first half of this financial year alone (between April-September 2018), blue-collared Indian workers in these countries had remitted USD 33.47 Billion back home. Not much is known about the human cost of such earnings which swell up the country’s forex reserves quietly. My recent RTI intervention and research of proceedings in Parliament has revealed that between 2012 and mid-2018 more than 24,570 Indian Workers died in these Gulf countries. This works out to an average of more than 10 deaths per day. For every US$ 1 Billion they remitted to India during the same period there were at least 117 deaths of Indian Workers in Gulf ...

Epic war against caste system is constitutional responsibility of elected government

Edited by well-known Gujarat Dalit rights leader Martin Macwan, the book, “Bhed-Bharat: An Account of Injustice and Atrocities on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-18)” (available in English and Gujarati*) is a selection of news articles on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-2018) published by Dalit Shakti Prakashan, Ahmedabad. Preface to the book, in which Macwan seeks to answer key questions on why the book is needed today: *** The thought of compiling a book on atrocities on Dalits and thus present an overall Indian picture had occurred to me a long time ago. Absence of such a comprehensive picture is a major reason for a weak social and political consciousness among Dalits as well as non-Dalits. But gradually the idea took a different form. I found that lay readers don’t understand numbers and don’t like to read well-researched articles. The best way to reach out to them was storytelling. As I started writing in Gujarati and sharing the idea of the book with my friends, it occurred to me that while...

Caste, employment, and Bihar elections: The tragedy of Musahar child labourers

By Sunil Kumar* Bihar 's biggest festival of 'democracy'—the elections—has begun with its full clamor. The announcements from both the ruling party and the opposition create the illusion that the state's suffering will vanish in an instant, and the lives of the people of Bihar will be greatly enriched. As in every election, this time too, caste and employment are emerging as key issues. Every party is unrolling its bundle of promises. But amidst this electoral noise, there are stories that are deliberately kept 'quiet'—because both the ruling party and the opposition benefit from their silence. One such story is the death of four Musahar children.

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

Search This Blog