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Govt. officials violate RTI Act with impunity, says CIC
Why in news?
- Chief Information Commissioner Sudhir Bhargava has accused government officials of violating the Right to Information Act with impunity, taking advantage of court orders that they cannot be penalised except in cases of mala fide intent.
More in news
- Public Meet Organised by: Satark Nagaril Sanagthan(SNS)
- Need for Penalties or disciplinary proceedings:
(1) Against officials who delay or wrongly deny information under the Act.
(2) penalties were needed to ensure effective implementation of the transparency law
- Judicial Orders curb powers of State and Central Information Commissions (CIC): orders requiring proof of mala fide intent on the part of the offender are taken as an advantage by Public Information Officers as it is very hard to prove mala fide intent.
- No use of powers even in cases where proof of mala fide intent not needed: CIC and SICs are not using their powers to impose penalties even in cases where proof of mala fide intent is not necessary-said RTI Activists.
- Show Cause Notice:Proof of mala fide intent is only needed in cases where an official wrongly denied information. Even then, the commission should at least be issuing a show cause notice.
- Failed to impose penalties in 97% of the cases where violations of the RTI Act took place in 2018-19 as per Data from the commissions.
Sources
The Hindu