Seven years and still counting is the plight of an RTI application in Jammu and Kashmir Police, and it depicts a sorry state of affairs. It is more serious as the fact is that the callousness is from the law enforcement agency itself, which sets a bad example for the rest of the administration as well as society. With thousands of RTI appeals pending, it appears that the time has come to take the matter seriously and find an alternative solution. Jammu and Kashmir Police is not the only department; it has now become a routine matter to deny information under RTI. It is important to note that RTIs have been instrumental in exposing systemic corruption and wrongdoing, and the denial of requested information is a crime against society. Long delays of several years only serve to derail the RTI movement for which it was created. There appears to be no regard for appeals, as it has repeatedly been demonstrated that a maximum penalty of twenty-five thousand rupees has no meaning for Government officials. Some alternative, stringent laws must be introduced to bring RTI back on track. RTI activists have been reduced to shuttlecocks. The Administration must devise some strategy to deal with the situation. The Government of Jammu and Kashmir has to put the necessary checks and balances in place to make RTI survive. On the part of the Jammu and Kashmir Police, necessary instructions should be given to honour RTI. RTI laws are not stringent laws as such flouted without much consideration. The provision of laws is there for departmental action against deliberate attempts to deny information, and the time has come to implement these under the present circumstances. Many incidents to undermine SIC and CIC authority have occurred in the recent past, and that doesn’t go well in a democratic setup. Higher authorities must intervene to stop the downslide and restore public confidence in RTI.
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