Govt adopts contemptuous attitude towards HC’s directions for revisiting RTI Rules

Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Apr 17: Despite misuse of the Right to Information Act to pursue hidden agenda, the State Government has adopted contemptuous approach towards High Court’s directions for revisiting of existing Rules of the Act during the past nearly eight months. Now, feeling handicapped in taking action on frivolous applications, the State Information Commission has made a fervent appeal to the State Government to have a serious look on the issue so that legislation doesn’t become a tool for putting unwarranted pressure on the public authorities.
The Division Bench of State High Court comprising Justice Virender Singh and Justice Janak Raj Kotwal, in a Public Interest Litigation titled B R Manhas Versus State of J&K and Others, had directed the State Government to repeal the existing RTI Rules and frame fresh ones to make various provisions of the Act workable and achieve the very purpose envisaged in enacting of the legislation.
The DB in its judgment dated August 24, 2014 had also observed that majority of the Rules of 2010 were within the limits of authority conferred under the Act and were indispensable for implementing and supplementing and to carry out the provisions of the Act.
The High Court had also asked how the ultimate object of setting out the regime of right to information to the people of the State can be achieved if the Commission is not aptly empowered within the ambit of the Act to ensure that directions issued by it are implemented.
However, despite lapse of nearly eight months, State Government has not taken the directions of the High Court seriously. This is notwithstanding the fact that State Information Commission is feeling handicapped in initiating action on various counts particularly in the cases of misuse of RTI Act for putting undue pressure on public authorities and pursuing hidden agenda by the information seekers.
The non-serious approach of the State Government towards revisiting of existing Rules of RTI Act is also notwithstanding the fact that day-to-day functioning of many departments gets hampered due to motivated, designed and nefarious attempts of resorting to filing multiple applications and subsequently engaging of public authorities in disposing of the same.
In a recent case, an applicant moved second appeal before the Commission against First Appellant Authority in the Chief Minister’s Secretariat despite getting full information from the Public Information Officer, which amounts to waste of precious time and resources of the public authorities besides engaging Commission in non-productive work thereby impinging on its time and resources.
However, in the absence of powers to take action against the applicant, the Commission, while dismissing the second appeal, only issued warning note mainly because in 2012 the Government had snatched its powers to take legal action in such cases. “Had there been an express provision for imposing the cost, the present case was the fit case for such a decision”, the Chief Information Commissioner, G R Sufi has remarked in the dismissal order.
“The Commission would like to make it clear that the basic purpose and rationale of the J&K RTI Act is to bring transparency and accountability in the working of public authorities. The Act is not to be used as a tool to pressurize public authorities to act in accordance with whims, fancies and idiocentrices of the interested parties”, Mr Sufi said.
He has reminded the State Government that motivated, designed and nefarious attempts of resorting to filing multiple application and engaging public authorities in devoting time at the cost of their day-to-day important and urgent administrative works was discouraged under the then Rule (20)(viii)(a)(b)(c) of J&K RTI Rules, 2010. But unfortunately without application of mind and considering the consequences which may create problems for the public authorities, these rules were repealed and replaced with Rules of 2012, wherein, there is no express provision for discouraging such act of filing multiple applications.
“The Commission is repeatedly hearing laments and un-ending helplessness by the PIOs and FAAs, who are confronted with such helplessness.  The Commission would, therefore, once again hope and make a fervent appeal to the State Government to have a serious look on this issue”, the CIC said.
He, however, warned against such irresponsible and seemingly motivated attempts of certain users of the Act, adding “the Commission will not allow such irresponsible behavior of any such person to pursue the personal agenda.  The Act is to be used for bringing transparency and accountability in the working of the public authorities and no other hidden agenda”.
The new dispensation, which is also making lofty slogans about ensuring good governance and transparency must shun contemptuous attitude towards the directions of the High Court and repeated pleas of the Information Commission and bring necessary changes in the Rules to check misuse of the Act.

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