-- Urvashi Sharma RTI Helpmail( Web Based ) aishwaryaj2010@gmail.com Mobile Rti Helpline 8081898081 ( 8 A.M. to 10 P.M. ) --- On Thu, 24/7/08, urvashi sharma <rtimahilamanchup@yahoo.co.in> wrote:
|
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Fw: [sackhim] MURDER OF RTI CONSPIRED BY SIC UTTAR PRADESH
Caveat Emptor — All for rights
Caveat Emptor — All for rights
http://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/society/article859454.ece
The right to information is one of the eight basic consumer rights,
and is the heart of consumer protection. It is particularly relevant
to complex financial products and services, as consumers need access
to information that enables them to comprehend what they are offered.
It is an interesting fact that every year, 150 million new consumers
take to financial services, most of them from countries where consumer
protection and financial literacy are still in their infancy.
Fair and accessible financial services to consumers are central to a
well-functioning economy. We are aware that ineffective regulation of
financial lending practices played a major role in creating and
worsening the recent financial crisis. Corrective action is required
to ensure this does not happen again.
The banking sector is still complex, rapidly changing, and carries
significant risks for consumers, and, there are no international
guidelines on how information should be delivered in a
consumer-friendly manner.
The Group of Twenty (G-20), of which India is a member, was
established in 1999 to bring together important, industrialised and
developing economies to discuss key issues in the global economy.
Since its inception, the G20 has held annual Finance Ministers and
Central Bank Governors' meetings and discussed measures to promote
financial stability, and achieve sustainable economic growth and
development.
During the summit in Pittsburgh in September 2009, the Leaders'
Statement declared, "Far more needs to be done to protect consumers,
depositors and investors against abusive market practices, promote
high quality standards and help to ensure the world does not face a
crisis of the scope we have seen. We are committed to take action at
the national and international level to raise standards together so
that our national authorities implement global standards consistently
in a way that ensures a level playing field".
At the summit in Toronto in June 2010, the key principle put forth was
to "encourage a comprehensive approach to consumer protection that
recognizes the roles of government, providers and consumers".
To take this commitment forward during the G20 Summit in November at
Seoul, South Korea, CAG, along with consumer groups from across the
world and the Consumers' International, has called for action on
financial consumer protection through the establishment of an Experts
Group on Consumer Financial Protection with representation from
financial consumer protection agencies, independent consumer
organisations and experts representing the interests of consumers.
The Experts Group so formed, is expected to recommend adoption by
various governments, of minimum standards relating to fair contract
terms and charges for financial products and services, information
design and disclosure on financial products, governance and functions
of national financial consumer protection bodies, promotion of
effective competition for financial consumer services and development
of a permanent organisation for international standard-setting and
co-ordination with regard to financial consumer protection.
Representations to the respective Heads of State and Finance Ministers
have been made in this regard, and it is hoped the dignitaries will
proceed with the establishment of the Experts Group.
(The writer works with CAG, which offers free advice on consumer
complaints to its members. For membership details/queries, contact
24914358/24460387 or helpdesk@cag.org.in)
Saturday, October 30, 2010
RTI activists meet in UP
http://www.merinews.com/article/rti-activists-meet-in-up/15834033.shtml
RTI activists meet in UP
RTI activists from across the state are meeting in Aligarh to discuss
the problems and solutions of RTI movement in Uttar Pradesh
CJ: urvashi sharma Sat, Oct 30, 2010 20:14:05 IST
IN UTTAR Pradesh, Right to Information (RTI) activists are struggling
head to nail to empower the masses and spread awareness about RTI.
However, sometimes they pay the price of their bravery with unforeseen
and unwarranted situations in their personal lives.
In order to add more muscle to their movement and to give a new
meaning to RTI movement in UP, activists from across the state are
meeting in Aligarh on 30th October 2010. To moot out ways to
strengthen RTI movement in Uttar Pradesh is their core objective.
The meet shall discuss various issues including complaints from
activists across the state about concerned authorities who are
denouncing the RTI Act and blocking information purposely. The
harassment of the activists at various levels and how to keep a check
on it, ways to devise a practical mechanism of coordinating the RTI
activities in the state to ensure optimum benefit of the Act to the
society and basically bring about some accountability in society by
addressing the above issues is the aim.
"We shall discuss the existing non-transparent
selection procedure of the State Information Commissioners and shall
later raise our demands to the Government that the process be changed
to have more accountability and public participation in the process,"
said activists Usha, Prabhuta and Saleem Baig from Lucknow .
The meet shall conclude on 31 October 2010.
--
Urvashi Sharma
RTI Helpmail( Web Based )
aishwaryaj2010@gmail.com
Mobile Rti Helpline
8081898081 ( 8 A.M. to 10 P.M. )
Friday, October 29, 2010
Activists join hands to form state Right to Information Council
http://www.hindustantimes.com/tabloid-news/mumbai/Activists-join-hands-to-form-state-Right-to-Information-Council/Article1-619715.aspx
Activists join hands to form state Right to Information Council
HT Correspondent,Hindustan Times
Email Author
Mumbai, October 30, 2010
Right to information activists in the state are fighting hard to
invest people with more power, but sometimes they pay the price of
their daredevilry with their lives. In order to add more muscle to
their movement, activists from across the state have come together to
form the Maharashtra Right to Information Council. The move aims to
put an end to the complaints from activists about authorities
subverting the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, as well as reduce
the spate of attacks on activists.
RTI activist Bhaskar Prabhu, convener of the council, said: "The main
aim of the council is to keep a check on the proper implementation of
the act, especially by public authorities."
This comes close on the heels of a protest conducted by city activists
against the appointment of the state chief information commissioner
and other information commissioners. Alleging a non-transparent
selection procedure, activists had demanded that the process be
changed to have more accountability and public participation in the
process.
Another issue on the council's agenda is the increasing number of
attacks on RTI activists.
The Hindustan Times had reported that Maharashtra had the highest
number of attacks on activists. "The council will try devising a
mechanism of offering protection and safeguarding activists," said
Prabhu. "We will also have a coordinator and committees in every
district to ensure that such objectives are met." The council has
appointed 13 co-coordinators in Mumbai and a few in Pune, Nashik, and
Satara
Prabhu said the council would also focus on conducting social audits
of welfare schemes, especially those meant for families below poverty
line. This would include the public distribution system and the
National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.
--
Urvashi Sharma
RTI Helpmail( Web Based )
aishwaryaj2010@gmail.com
Mobile Rti Helpline
8081898081 ( 8 A.M. to 10 P.M. )
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Women & RTI power bring a remarkable change in a village of Uttar Pradesh
Ready for the fight - Rasoolpur's women take charge of village
development, ably tackling corruption along the way..
Anjali Singh
Education, they say, is a tool for freedom of thought and action. If
you want proof of this, come to Rasoolpur, a small village nestled in
Uttar Pradesh's Baraich district, and visit its Poorva Madhyamik
Vidyalaya. Eight years ago, this school was the site of a powerful
anti-corruption campaign. But what is particularly surprising is that
the campaign was anchored by local women. The campaign continues.
Ramawati, 35, heads Ma Gawat, a self-help group (SHG) with 12 women
members and plays a dual role as ASHA Bahu or the local maternity
health worker. "We have five SHGs running in Rasoolpur and they are
all managed by women," she says.
It all began when the new school building constructed in 2003 for
local children started leaking just a few days after construction. It
finally collapsed during the monsoons that year — fortunately, there
were no children in the classrooms when the roof fell or it would have
been a huge tragedy. "That's when we women decided to take matters in
our own hands and seek justice for the village. The headmaster and the
village pradhan refused to listen to the men and threatened them. But
they could not stand against us," she laughs.
Another local woman leader, Rajkumari, who formed the Mari Mata Swayam
Shayata Samuh (an SHG named after the local goddess, Mari Mata, with
10 members), says, "It's our right to get access to education for our
children and we are ready to face any obstacle that comes in our way.
When we investigated the collapse of the roof, we found that the
material used for it was adulterated. The iron girders were not thick
enough. Clearly, the money sent by the district administration to
build the school was embezzled."
When the local women confronted the person responsible, he threatened
them too, but they were not intimidated and decided to start a
campaign to expose him and get the school building reconstructed.
This was the beginning of a focused campaign to highlight the issue in
the media and take the matter up to the State government authorities
in Lucknow. It caused quite a stir. Predictably, an inquiry was
ordered by the technical division of the Basic Education Department of
the State. The District Magistrate came down for inspection, took
stock of the situation, and finally okayed the reconstruction of the
building. There was disciplinary action against the headmaster, who
was transferred.
The move was celebrated throughout the village. Sushila Devi, a mother
of five and member of a local SHG, says, "We used to guard the school
building day and night, throwing chappals and jhadus (brooms) to keep
the headmaster's goons from tampering with evidence, which had to be
kept intact until the officials had completed their inspections."
Finally, the verdict came in favour of the women and the building was
reconstructed. Sushila says, "Now our children come here to study
while we women hold our group meetings here. Today, all my daughters
go to school. Had we not fought for our rights, our children may have
never got an education."
That episode was, however, not the end of this saga. Rasoolpur's women
SHGs decided to take up other issues like child marriage and infant
mortality, using the school as their platform. Today, almost eight
years later, the campaign against corruption continues to be a part of
their agenda. Says Ramawati, "Getting the school reconstructed was a
victory no doubt, but our village had many other problems too. For
instance, women here did not go for institutional childbirth. To add
to that, there were no income generation schemes for women who were
facing financial difficulties. So when we sat down for a meeting with
a Samuh member, named Suresh Mishra, he suggested that we begin by
first investing in saving schemes for the local women." Mishra, a
social worker, has formed a group to facilitate meetings of local
women on a regular basis in the village.
Initially, the women hesitated to participate as they had little money
to spare. That was when Ramawati came forward and volunteered to make
an initial contribution of Rs 20. A few months later, many more women
were able to save Rs 20. A group fund was set up from these savings
and the money was used to buy provisions and run a grocery shop (there
is one shop in the village which was set up by an SHG member with a
loan from the joint fund the women were running). Rations were bought
at cheaper rates than those offered by the government-run ration
depots managed by the village pradhan.
Jitendra Chaturvedi of DEHAT, an organisation which is active in the
area, vouches for the effectiveness of campaigns launched by
Rasoolpur's feisty women. "Earlier I had seen 12 or 14-year-old girls
getting married. Today, the marriageable age has risen to at least 18.
In fact, even after their marriage, the bride is not generally sent to
her husband's home for another three to four years. It is only when
her education is complete and she is ready to take on the
responsibilities of family life, is her gauna (consummation of
marriage) organised," he says.
Chaturvedi points to another positive outcome: After eight years of
awareness campaigns, more women are now seeking institutional
deliveries, something that was unheard of a few years ago.
But this is still not the end of the story. Through their SHG
activities, the women have managed to free their once-mortgaged land,
improve the literacy rate in the village by joining adult education
programmes — like the government-run Tara Akshar — and are now seeking
leadership training.
The latest anti-corruption drive exposes a huge scam in the Public
Distribution System (PDS). According to the 50-year-old Rajkumari, the
PDS run under the supervision of the pradhan has been mismanaged,
leading to a scam amounting to Rs 22 lakh.
"Through the Right to Information (RTI) Act, we have forced the
pradhan to return the ration cards made in our names, which he had
retained. On inspecting them we realised that rations were supplied
illegally through the PDS store using our cards," she says.
The women also unearthed a racket where job cards in the names of
non-existent people were being issued, resulting in Rs 10,000 being
withdrawn every month from the funds earmarked for the rural
employment guarantee scheme.
Rajkumari regards such corruption as a challenge. She says, "We will
not give up until we stop it. Jai Adhikar! (Victory to our rights)"
© Women's Feature Service
-
Urvashi Sharma
RTI Helpmail( Web Based )
aishwaryaj2010@gmail.com
Mobile Rti Helpline
8081898081 ( 8 A.M. to 10 P.M. )
RTI Logo & Portal Launched
Mobile Rti Helpline 8081898081 ( 8 A.M. to 10 P.M. ) |
RTI Logo & Portal Launched
http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=66648
20:33 IST
The Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and
Pensions Shri Prithviraj Chavan launched the Logo on RTI and the RTI
portal today in the presence of Shri. A N. Tiwari, Chief Information
Commission and Shri. Shantanu Consul, Secretary, DoPT.
It is a simple and iconic logo depicting a sheet of paper with
information on it, and the public authority – providing the
information. This represents people's empowerment through transfer and
accountability in Governance. The logo's shape and structure make it
easy to remember, recall and replicate with minimal distortion.
In the last five years the RTI regime has heralded a regime of
transparency and accountability and strengthened the democratic
structure of the country. Success stories of citizens using the RTI
Act abound. The Act has achieved great success in empowering the
citizens of India. However it was felt that the core values of the RTI
regime – Empowerment, Transparency and Accountability- need to be
given a shape in the form of a logo. The logo would be displayed at
all public authorities and will be used in various communications
related to RTI.
The Right to Information Portal – A Gateway on RTI – was also formally
launched on this occasion. The portal is one stop knowledge bank for
information seekers, information providers, trainers, Information
Commissions, students and academicians. It provides for a digital
library, discussion fora, e- newsletter and a blog. Latest judgments
of the High Courts and Information Commissions; reports, articles,
guides, manuals, handbooks for various stakeholders; online
certificate course are also available on this portal. There is
facility for stakeholders to interact through dedicated and open
discussion forum and register as resource persons. The web URL for the
Portal is www.rtigateway.org.in.
Click here to see Logo
--
Urvashi Sharma
RTI Helpmail( Web Based )
aishwaryaj2010@gmail.com
Mobile Rti Helpline
8081898081 ( 8 A.M. to 10 P.M. )
High Court Allahabad rejects Challenge to the Vigilance Notification , discharges the rule framed by Uttar Pradesh Government
High Court Allahabad rejects Challenge to the Vigilance Notification ,
discharges the rule framed by Uttar Pradesh Government
discharges the rule framed by Uttar Pradesh Government
High Court Allahabad , on 25-10-10 , decided PUBLIC INTEREST
LITIGATION (PIL) No. - 63607 of 2010 , Saleem Baig Vs. State Of U.P.
And Another in the light of The U.P. Vigilance Establishment Act, 1965
and The Right to information act 2005 . The case was heard by the
bench of Chief Justice F.I. Rebello and Justice A.P. Sahi .
Considering the issue of law involved in the PIL the High Court
Allahabad decided that it was not necessary to call upon the State
to file its counter.
The writ petition challenged the notification dated September 22,
2010, whereby the Uttar Pradesh Vigilance Establishment constituted
under the Uttar Pradesh Vigilance Establishment Act, 1965 was kept
out of the purview of the provisions
of the Right to Information Act, 2005 . The relief sought was to quash
the said notification.
" A bare reading of Section 24 (4) of the Act, 2005 would show that it
is open to the State Government to notify the vigilance and security
organizations to fall outside the purview of the provisions of the
Act, 2005. The first proviso of sub-section (4) of Section 24
clarifies that even if such notification is issued, the allegations of
corruption and human rights violations will not be excluded. The
second proviso thereof, further clarifies that these information will
only be provided after the approval of the State Information
Commission insofar as corruption and human rights violations are
concerned. The U.P. Vigilance Establishment has been constituted under
the U.P. Vigilance Establishment Act, 1965. As the Act, 1965 itself
shows, it is a special police force established for the investigation
of offences notified under Section 3 of the said Act. The offences to
be investigated under Section 3 are such as has been notified by the
State Government. The preamble to the impugned notification itself
shows that the object of the notification is that the U.P. Vigilance
Establishment has been formed and is functioning to collect
intelligence, investigate criminal offences and file charge sheet
against the accused in the appropriate court, requiring top secrecy
and precautions. Once that be the case, it cannot be said that the
notification is ultra vires to the provisions of Section 24 (4) of the
Act, 2005. Challenge, therefore, to the impugned notification, as set
out in the writ petition, will have to be rejected," observed the
court.
While dismissing the writ petition, the court however, made it clear
that as contemplated by the first proviso to sub-section (4) of
Section 24 of the Act, 2005, all the information pertaining to
corruption should not be excluded from the provisions of the Act, 2005
and similarly, the information pertaining to the human rights
violations also should not be excluded, but that would be subject to
the second proviso of sub-section (4) of Section 24 of the Act, 2005.
" Though I am disappointed on dismissal of PIL , I feel that with
RTI act 2005 along with this High Court order in their hands, the RTI
Applicants can now fight for the information on corruption related
issues in a more forceful way than earlier , when usually they were
denied information in such matters even by the Uttar Pradesh State
Information Commission while such cases came up for hearing before it
. I am of the strong view that At least now information-commissioners
shall have the fear of Contempt of Court if they fail to comply
proviso 1 & 2 of Section 24 ( 4 ) while deciding such cases ."
--
Urvashi Sharma
RTI Helpmail( Web Based )
aishwaryaj2010@gmail.com
Mobile Rti Helpline
8081898081 ( 8 A.M. to 10 P.M. )
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
RTI Act 2005 & Corruption Perception index
The Preamble of the RTI Act 2005 states "And whereas democracy
requires an informed citizenry and transparency of information which
are vital to its functioning and also to contain corruption and to
hold Governments and their instrumentalities accountable to the
governed; "
requires an informed citizenry and transparency of information which
are vital to its functioning and also to contain corruption and to
hold Governments and their instrumentalities accountable to the
governed; "
Here emphasis has been laid on the words " to contain corruption " .
As per Transparency International's annual survey India has slipped
from 84th position to 87th. It means India has become more corrupt
than year before despite there being an important tool called " RTI
act 2005 " to contain corruption .
The Scale which ranges from zero (perceived to be highly corrupt) to
10 (thought to have little corruption). India scored 3.3 in the
corruption perception index, which ranks countries on a scale from 10
(highly clean) to 0 (highly corrupt).
Corruption's ultimate consequences has to be borne by the poor ,
vulnerable and deprived section of the society . This section
constitutes a major chunk of India's Population.
So this is the time the Governments and civil societies in India
should introspect as to for what purpose the RTI act was enacted and
if it is serving that intended purpose . If no , then what are the
factors responsible for this contradictory situation of rising
corruption despite there being a strong tool called " Right to
Information Act 2005 " .
--
Urvashi Sharma
RTI Helpmail( Web Based )
aishwaryaj2010@gmail.com
Mobile Rti Helpline
8081898081 ( 8 A.M. to 10 P.M. )
After "RTI act 2005" , an Act for "Privacy , Data Protection & Security" in the offing
Exclusive! Govt mulls law to defend citizen's privacy
http://news.rediff.com/report/2010/oct/27/exclusive-now-a-law-to-defend-citizens-privacy.htm
The government has woken up belatedly to provide legal protection to
its citizens' privacy, circulating an approach paper on need to
guarantee it without compromising the country's balance of interests
and concern.
Most Western countries have strict privacy laws that India lacked so
far because the public dissemination of personal information has over
time become a way of demonstrating 'the transparent functioning of the
government.'
How soon the law will be enacted for the purpose is, however, not
certain as it is all still at the conceptual level. The draft approach
paper was circulated on Monday and a short time of one week is given
for the public views by October 25; that itself may trigger an outcry
to allow more time.
The approach paper says the privacy for the purpose should be defined
as the expectation that confidential personal information disclosed by
any individual to government or non-government entity should not be
disclosed to third parties without his consent and sufficient
safeguards be adopted in processing and storing such information.
"In essence, disclosure of data which can be used to identify a
physical person without following the due process could be construed
as breach of privacy," says the document while pointing out that the
country does not have any protection statute.
Though the judiciary has derived "right to privacy" from the rights
available under Article 19(1)(a) that defines fundamental right to
freedom of speech and expression and Article 21 that gives the right
to life and personal liberty, all cases were decided in the context of
government action resulting in denial of right of privacy to private
citizens.
No privacy judgment has so far granted citizens a right of action
against the breach of privacy by another citizen and as such the
personal privacy jurisprudence in the country is not yet fully
developed, says the approach paper.
It says the legislation to ensure privacy should really be in the form
of framework rather than detailed prescriptions, making it applicable
equally to private as well as public entities to protect citizens and
individuals against the misuse of their personal data by anybody.
Such a law will ensure protection to all forms of personal data,
imposing a greater responsibility on those processing and collecting
the information "whose disclosure can result in significant financial,
reputational or other associated loss to the person concerned."
The legislation is recommended to be limited to personal information
relating to real persons on the ground that there are other
legislations that deal with information in the context of legal
persons such as corporations.
Besides, there is a greater risk of personal injury in the context of
real persons as opposed to legal persons.
The document recommends creation of an appropriate list of items that
would constitute sensitive information and goes on to list out what
they can be. These are:
racial or ethnic origin or castes;
political affiliations or opinions;
religious affiliations and beliefs or other beliefs of a similar nature;
membership of a trade union;
physical or mental health or condition;
sexual life;
criminal record;
genetic information about an individual that is not otherwise health
information;
information or an opinion about an individual;
financial or proprietary confidential corporate data;
data on a person's personality;
private family relations;
biometric data;
social welfare needs of a person or the benefits, support or other
social welfare assistance received by the person; and
data collected on a person during the process of taxation (except data
concerning tax arrears).
The approach paper also takes note of the biometric data collected by
the government under its Unique Identity project called 'Aadhar' which
can be misused causing immense harm to the individuals as it says it
should be also defined as personal sensitive data.
It also stressed that the personal data be collected only after
written consent and the individuals should have the right to correct
any wrong data about them and the data controller must be made
responsible for faults of the data processor to fulfil the data
protection obligations.
Also the data should be stored only till the time the purpose for
which it is collected is achieved.
The document discusses the possible conflict of the privacy law with
various other laws like the Right to Information Act and says the act
itself directly or indirectly lays down that private information
relating to an individual is to be prevented from authorised
disclosure.
It also stressed that the legislation must provide for exceptions like
in the interests of national security as on many occasions the
government may need to gain access.
What about the credit verification done by banks and financial
institutions to access personal information about the prospective
borrowers? The document says there will be no bar on collection of
data but provide a regulation regime on how it is processed for only
verifying the credit worthiness of a person.
As regards the possibility of the proposed law infringing upon freedom
to trade of the detective agencies, the approach paper refers to the
European laws dealing with the use of surveillance for security and
private investigation purposes and suggests that the private detective
agencies must be regulated as they can potentially wreak considerable
havoc on the personal information of a citizen if allowed to operate
without regulations.
A Correspondent in New Delhi
--
Urvashi Sharma
RTI Helpmail( Web Based )
aishwaryaj2010@gmail.com
Mobile Rti Helpline
8081898081 ( 8 A.M. to 10 P.M. )
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Challenge to the Vigilance Notification rejected , rule discharged by High Court Allahabad
eLegalix - Allahabad High Court Judgment Information System (Judgment/Order in Text Format)
| |||
| HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD ?Chief Justice's Court Case :- PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION (PIL) No. - 63607 of 2010 Petitioner :- Saleem Baig Respondent :- State Of U.P. And Another Petitioner Counsel :- D.K. Tiwari Respondent Counsel :- C.S.C. Hon'ble Ferdino Inacio Rebello,Chief Justice Hon'ble Amreshwar Pratap Sahi,J. Rule. Heard forthwith. Considering the issue of law involved in the present writ petition, it is not necessary to call upon the State to file its counter. The writ petitioner has come to this Court challenging the notification dated September 22, 2010, whereby the Uttar Pradesh Vigilance Establishment constituted under the Uttar Pradesh Vigilance Establishment Act, 1965 is kept out of the purview of the provisions of the Right to Information Act, 2005 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act, 2005'). The writ petitioner, by means of the present writ petition, in his relief clause has sought to quash this notification by a writ of certiorari with further consequential reliefs. It is the case of the writ petitioner that the impugned notification issued by the State Government is against the constitutional provisions as well as the intention of the legislature while enacting the Right to Information Act, 2005. Section 24 of the Right to Information Act,2005 is relevant for deciding the present controversy, which reads as follows:- "24. Act not to apply to certain organizations.--(1) Nothing contained in this Act shall apply to the intelligence and security organizations specified in the Second Schedule, being organizations established by the Central Government or any information furnished by such organizations to that Government: Provided that the information pertaining to the allegations of corruption and human rights violations shall not be excluded under this sub-section: Provided further that in the case of information sought for is in respect of allegations of violation of human rights, the information shall only be provided after the approval of the Central Information Commission, and notwithstanding anything contained in Section 7, such information shall be provided within forty-five days from the date of the receipt of request. (2) The Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, amend the Schedule by including therein any other intelligence or security organization established by that Government or omitting therefrom any organization already specified therein and on the publication of such notification, such organization shall be deemed to be included in or, as the case may be, omitted from the Schedule. (3) Every notification issued under sub-section (2) shall be laid before each House of Parliament. (4) Nothing contained in this Act shall apply to such intelligence and security organizations, being organizations established by the State Government, as that Government may, from time to time, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify: Provided that the information pertaining to the allegations of corruption and human rights violations shall not be excluded under this sub-section: Provided further that in the case of information sought for is in respect of allegations of violation of human rights, the information shall only be provided after the approval of the State Information Commission and, notwithstanding anything contained in Section 7, such information shall be provided within forty-five days from the date of the receipt of request. (5) Every notification issued under sub-section (4) shall be laid before the State Legislature." A bare reading of Section 24 (4) of the Act, 2005 would show that it is open to the State Government to notify the vigilance and security organizations to fall outside the purview of the provisions of the Act, 2005. The first proviso of sub-section (4) of Section 24 clarifies that even if such notification is issued, the allegations of corruption and human rights violations will not be excluded. The second proviso thereof, further clarifies that these informations will only be provided after the approval of the State Information Commission insofar as corruption and human rights violations are concerned. The U.P. Vigilance Establishment has been constituted under the U.P. Vigilance Establishment Act, 1965. As the Act, 1965 itself shows, it is a special police force established for the investigation of offences notified under Section 3 of the said Act. The offences to be investigated under Section 3 are such as has been notified by the State Government. The preamble to the impugned notification itself shows that the object of the notification is that the U.P. Vigilance Establishment has been formed and is functioning to collect intelligence, investigate criminal offences and file chargesheet against the accused in the appropriate court, requiring top secrecy and precautions. Once that be the case, it cannot be said that the notification is ultra vires to the provisions of Section 24 (4) of the Act, 2005. Challenge, therefore, to the impugned notification, as set out in the writ petition, will have to be rejected. While dismissing the writ petition, we however, make it clear that as contemplated by the first proviso to sub-section (4) of Section 24 of the Act, 2005, all the information pertaining to corruption cannot be excluded from the provisions of the Act, 2005 and similarly, the information pertaining to the human rights violations also cannot be excluded, but that would be subject to the second proviso of sub-section (4) of Section 24 of the Act, 2005. Similar issue had also come up for consideration before the Madras High Court in Superintendent of Police, Central Range, Office of the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption, Chennai Vs. R. Karthikeyan and another, (Writ Petition Nos.23507 and 23508 of 2009), decided on 12.01.2010. Accordingly, rule discharged. However, there will be no order as to costs. Order Date :- 25.10.2010 RKK/- (F.I. Rebello, CJ) (A.P. Sahi, J) |
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Challenge to the Vigilance Notification rejected , rule discharged by High Court Allahabad
eLegalix - Allahabad High Court Judgment Information System
(Judgment/Order in Text Format)
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(Judgment/Order in Text Format)
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This is an UNCERTIFIED copy for information/reference. For authentic
copy please refer to certified copy only. In case of any mistake,
please bring it to the notice of Deputy Registrar(Copying).
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD
?Chief Justice's Court
Case :- PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION (PIL) No. - 63607 of 2010
Petitioner :- Saleem Baig
Respondent :- State Of U.P. And Another
Petitioner Counsel :- D.K. Tiwari
Respondent Counsel :- C.S.C.
Hon'ble Ferdino Inacio Rebello,Chief Justice
Hon'ble Amreshwar Pratap Sahi,J.
Rule. Heard forthwith.
Considering the issue of law involved in the present writ petition, it
is not necessary to call upon the State to file its counter.
The writ petitioner has come to this Court challenging the
notification dated September 22, 2010, whereby the Uttar Pradesh
Vigilance Establishment constituted under the Uttar Pradesh Vigilance
Establishment Act, 1965 is kept out of the purview of the provisions
of the Right to Information Act, 2005 (hereinafter referred to as 'the
Act, 2005'). The writ petitioner, by means of the present writ
petition, in his relief clause has sought to quash this notification
by a writ of certiorari with further consequential reliefs.
It is the case of the writ petitioner that the impugned notification
issued by the State Government is against the constitutional
provisions as well as the intention of the legislature while enacting
the Right to Information Act, 2005. Section 24 of the Right to
Information Act,2005 is relevant for deciding the present controversy,
which reads as follows:-
"24. Act not to apply to certain organizations.--(1) Nothing contained
in this Act shall apply to the intelligence and security organizations
specified in the Second Schedule, being organizations established by
the Central Government or any information furnished by such
organizations to that Government:
Provided that the information pertaining to the allegations of
corruption and human rights violations shall not be excluded under
this sub-section:
Provided further that in the case of information sought for is in
respect of allegations of violation of human rights, the information
shall only be provided after the approval of the Central Information
Commission, and notwithstanding anything contained in Section 7, such
information shall be provided within forty-five days from the date of
the receipt of request.
(2) The Central Government may, by notification in the Official
Gazette, amend the Schedule by including therein any other
intelligence or security organization established by that Government
or omitting therefrom any organization already specified therein and
on the publication of such notification, such organization shall be
deemed to be included in or, as the case may be, omitted from the
Schedule.
(3) Every notification issued under sub-section (2) shall be laid
before each House of Parliament.
(4) Nothing contained in this Act shall apply to such intelligence and
security organizations, being organizations established by the State
Government, as that Government may, from time to time, by notification
in the Official Gazette, specify:
Provided that the information pertaining to the allegations of
corruption and human rights violations shall not be excluded under
this sub-section:
Provided further that in the case of information sought for is in
respect of allegations of violation of human rights, the information
shall only be provided after the approval of the State Information
Commission and, notwithstanding anything contained in Section 7, such
information shall be provided within forty-five days from the date of
the receipt of request.
(5) Every notification issued under sub-section (4) shall be laid
before the State Legislature."
A bare reading of Section 24 (4) of the Act, 2005 would show that it
is open to the State Government to notify the vigilance and security
organizations to fall outside the purview of the provisions of the
Act, 2005. The first proviso of sub-section (4) of Section 24
clarifies that even if such notification is issued, the allegations of
corruption and human rights violations will not be excluded. The
second proviso thereof, further clarifies that these informations will
only be provided after the approval of the State Information
Commission insofar as corruption and human rights violations are
concerned.
The U.P. Vigilance Establishment has been constituted under the U.P.
Vigilance Establishment Act, 1965. As the Act, 1965 itself shows, it
is a special police force established for the investigation of
offences notified under Section 3 of the said Act. The offences to be
investigated under Section 3 are such as has been notified by the
State Government.
The preamble to the impugned notification itself shows that the object
of the notification is that the U.P. Vigilance Establishment has been
formed and is functioning to collect intelligence, investigate
criminal offences and file chargesheet against the accused in the
appropriate court, requiring top secrecy and precautions. Once that be
the case, it cannot be said that the notification is ultra vires to
the provisions of Section 24 (4) of the Act, 2005. Challenge,
therefore, to the impugned notification, as set out in the writ
petition, will have to be rejected.
While dismissing the writ petition, we however, make it clear that as
contemplated by the first proviso to sub-section (4) of Section 24 of
the Act, 2005, all the information pertaining to corruption cannot be
excluded from the provisions of the Act, 2005 and similarly, the
information pertaining to the human rights violations also cannot be
excluded, but that would be subject to the second proviso of
sub-section (4) of Section 24 of the Act, 2005.
Similar issue had also come up for consideration before the Madras
High Court in Superintendent of Police, Central Range, Office of the
Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption, Chennai Vs. R.
Karthikeyan and another, (Writ Petition Nos.23507 and 23508 of 2009),
decided on 12.01.2010.
Accordingly, rule discharged. However, there will be no order as to costs.
Order Date :- 25.10.2010
RKK/-
(F.I. Rebello, CJ)
(A.P. Sahi, J)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Monday, October 25, 2010
IRDS Seminar , RTI & Misinformation
IRDS Seminar , RTI & Misinformation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6lsqkoqAk8&feature=mfu_in_order Institute for Research and Documentation in Social Sciences (IRDS) Friends, I present before you a very interesting case of a Seminar dated 07-02-2010 , organized by the Institute for Research and Documentation in Social Sciences (IRDS) by a Non-governmental organization ( NGO ) based in In this Seminar Experts were Mis-educating the citizenry on RTI act 2005. The experts opined "Second Appeal can be made under section 18 of RTI act 2005" and that "Second appeals are made under section 19(2) of the RTI act 2005 " . A news Video on you-tube suggests that all those present in the seminar subscribed to this totally wrong and baseless spread of information about the complaints and appeals that are to be made under RTI act 2005 . This also projects the ignorance level about the RTI act 2005 even in year 2010 in NGOs and experts who organized and attended this seminar on RTI . Anyone who does not know the basic difference between the complaints of section 18 and second appeals of section 19(3) , should not be allowed to mis-educate others on RTI in seminars . NGOs should look into it as their office-bearers should concentrate on substance delivered in seminars rather than treating seminars and NGOs as a holy cow whom they milk whenever they want. This video ( link given ) should immediately be removed from the you-tube site.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6lsqkoqAk8&feature=mfu_in_order Babita |
Fwd: CNN HERO NARAYANAN KRISHNAN, PLEASE VOTE [Must do]
FYI&NA
regards
urvashi
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Sudhir-Architect
Date: Mon, 25 Oct 2010 05:24:19 -0700 (PDT)
Subject:- CNN HERO NARAYANAN KRISHNAN, PLEASE VOTE [Must do]
New Delhi: If you had not heard of Narayanan Krishnan, as I had not, it is a
collective failure. This is one of the most incredible stories of personal
commitment.
Narayanan Krishnan, all of 29 years old now, does what he was professionally
trained to do as a chef. Feed people. Only Krishnan does not do this in the
swanky confines of a 5-star hotel. Every day, he wakes up at 4 am, cooks a
simple hot meal and then, along with his team, loads it in a van and travels
about 200 km feeding the homeless in Madurai , Tamil Nadu.
Krishnan feeds, often with his hands, almost 400 destitute people
every day. And
for those who need it, he provides a free haircut too.
According to CNN, eight years ago, this award-winning chef with a five-star
hotel chain was all set to go to Switzerland for a high-profile posting. On a
visit to a Madurai temple, he came across a homeless, old man eating his own
human waste. That stark sight changed Krishnan's life.
Much to the dismay of his parents, CNN says, Krishnan abandoned his career
plans and decided to spend his life and his professional training in looking
after those who could not care for themselves. He has provided more than 1.2
million hot meals through his nonprofit organisation Akshaya Trust, and now
hopes to extend this to shelter for the homeless too.
Krishnan is the only Indian in a list of 10 heroes that CNN has picked
worldwide to honour. One of them will be chosen CNN Hero of the Year, selected
by the public through an online poll. If many Indians get together to vote
for this inspiring man, he can win by a long mile.
If Krishnan wins he will get $100,000 in addition to the $25,000 that he gets
for being shortlisted for the Top 10. Akshaya Trust needs all the monetary
support it can get to build on Krishnan's dream. Let's help him get there.
Vote for Krishnan here. (http://heroes.cnn.com/vote.aspx)The poll continues
through November 18 at 6 a.m. ET.
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/04/01/cnnheroes.krishnan.hunger/
Read the Full Story of Narayanan Krishnan at:
http://www.thedivineshoppe.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=156&Itemid=60
Thanks & Regards,
Sudhir Srinivasan
B.Arch, Dip.ID, Dip.CAD, Dip.PM, AIIA, IIID, ARIAI
|Architect|
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Urvashi Sharma
RTI Helpmail( Web Based )
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Mobile Rti Helpline
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Re: [Arkitect India] Government Sponsored Conspiracy to nip “ the RTI movement ” in the bud …
On Sun, Oct 24, 2010 at 5:21 AM, urvashi sharma <rtimahilamanchup@yahoo.co.in> wrote:
Government Sponsored Conspiracy to nip " the RTI movement " in the bud …
If it happens once , it's a co-incidence . If it repeats , its deliberate. In recent past , Lucknow has witnessed two seminars in two law faculties of different colleges on ( almost ) the same " Anti RTI " topic .
On 18th of September 2010 a Seminar on "use and misuse of RTI" was held in the Law Department, Lucknow University jointly by Lucknow University and National RTI forum .
On 22nd & 23rd of October 2010 a Seminar on "RTI Act 2005 , its use , overuse and misuse in India" was held in the Law Department, Shia P.G. College sponsored by University Grants Commission.At a time when the RTI act has a limited reach to 5% of Indian Population & almost negligible compliance of- Section 4 ( 1 ) ( b ) , 4 ( 1 ) ( c ) , 4 ( 2 ) by the Public Authorities ,- Section 25 & 26 by the Appropriate Governments- Section 18 , 19 & 20 by The information Commissioners ;Holding seminars on such topics is nothing but being a part of conspiracy of the government to marginalize the RTI act 2005 even before it should take a start. At a time , when the need is to spread awareness about the RTI , these seminars talk of "overuse" & " misuse " of the act.RTI act is the act of the masses where spirit rules , but some intellects ( of course with vested interests ) want to drown it in the sea of legal jargons and misleading contexts.Though there may be positive discussions in such seminars but that goes into the backdrop and since topic is " anti RTI " , so anti RTI issues surface out and march forward with news headlines in next day's newspapers . This is detrimental to RTI movement i.e. to the masses and should be avoided.When majority has not yet used RTI act , how come anyone can say that it is being overused and misused . RTI act is the sunshine act to help ensure establishment of " Participatory Democracy " and to bring real "SWARAJ " in INDIA" . Truly speaking RTI act is an " underused " Act due to inaction of AGs , CAs , P.A.s & NGOs .If any of the group members have compiled illustrations of overuse and misuse of RTI act by RTI users , please share it to enhance my knowledge. If not , then please as a responsible citizen , decide topics of RTI-Seminars very judiciously as they have grave ramifications on our society .RegardsUrvashi Sharma8081898081--
Urvashi Sharma
RTI Helpmail( Web Based )
aishwaryaj2010@gmail.com
Mobile Rti Helpline
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