Southern States - Kerala-Thiruvananthapuram   

Seeking to grant citizens more rights to information

By Roy Mathew

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM DEC. 6. The Right to Information Bill proposed by the State Government seeks to grant more rights to citizens than the Freedom of Information Bill passed by the Parliament.

However, the Government was yet to give any commitment as to when the Bill would be enacted and enforced. There was also the likelihood that officials may read more into some of the provisions restricting the right to information in the Bill than intended. Changes are likely in view of the passing of the Central law.

One major difference between and Central law and the proposed State law was the penal provision for supply of wrong information by the officials. The Central Act has no provision to penalise a Government officer for giving incorrect, incomplete or misleading information to the public.

The draft Bill for the State legislation prepared by the Law Reforms Committee, headed by Law Minister, K. M. Mani, seeks to specify penalty for failure to supply information without any reasonable cause within the period specified or supply of false information provided that the competent authority knows it to be false or has reasonable cause to believe it to be false.

The penalty proposed was a fine not exceeding Rs. 2,000 to be imposed by the superior officer.

While the Central law specifies two levels of appeal against decision of the competent authority not to supply the information sought, the State draft legislation lists one level of appeal.

There are no express provisions regarding the right of the citizen to go on appeal to the courts. A State council, headed by the Minister in charge of the Department of Administrative Reforms, would function to review and oversee the implementation of the law.

The Central law excludes about 18 organisations such as the Intelligence Bureau from the purview of the law. The State law exempts the courts, Secretariat of the Governor of Kerala and all local self-Government institutions besides Central Government establishments.

The draft provides that every citizen will have the right to information. Exempted information include information, the disclosure of which would prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity of the India, security of the State, strategic scientific and economic interest of India and conduct of international relations.

Information, the disclosure of which would prejudicially affect public safety and order or which may lead to an incitement to commit an offence or prejudicially affect fair trial or adjudication of pending case is not to be disclosed.

Release of information, the disclosure of which would harm frankness and candour or internal discussions, including inter-departmental or intra-departmental notes, correspondence and papers containing advice or opinion of projections and assumptions relating to internal policy analysis is also proscribed.

Information relating to Cabinet papers, information that would prejudice the assessment or collection of tax and other levies or assist tax evasion, information that would constitute a breach of privilege of the Parliament or the State Legislature and trade and commercial secrets are the other proscribed categories.

Officials may give a wider meaning to clauses like strategic economic interests when it comes to disclosure of information relating to matters such as the loan from the Asian Development Bank and the conditionalities associated with.

The Government had been refusing to disclose to the people decisions and economic data it was communicating to the Bank while stressing transparency.

Prohibition on disclosure of advice given by officials would come in the way of full appreciation of the decision making process. For example, if the Law Department has objected to a proposal, the Government may not be bound to disclose the arguments advanced by it.

The drafts lays down that the public authorities should maintain all records in such manner and form as is consistent with its operational requirements duly catalogued and indexed. They should also publish particulars of its organisation, functions and duties, the powers and duties of officers and employees and the procedures followed by them in decision making process and norms set up by the public authority for the discharge of its functions at intervals specified.

The records would include document, manuscript and file, any microfilm, microfiche and facsimile copy of documents, any reproduction of image or images embodied in such microfile and any other material produced by a computer or by any other device.

The citizen will have the right to obtain certified copies of any of these records or access the information by obtaining diskettes, floppies or other electronic mode or through print outs where such information is stored in a computer or in any other device.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Southern States

News: Front Page | National | Southern States | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary |

Stories in this Section

• Seeking to grant citizens more rights to information
• Younger crop to the fore in CPI
• CPI(M) panel meet today
• `CPI did not shield Bhargavi'
• Ban on anti-rabies vaccine raises eyebrows

Copyright © 2002, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu