Is it necessary for the applicant to state the reasons to the Government for the Right to information query? Critically Examine (200 Words)
Refer - Financial Express
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IAS Parliament 4 years
KEY POINTS
· Right to Information act, the transparency law, one of the most effective tools to hold all levels of the government accountable.
· The Delhi High Court’s recent order, “whenever information is sought under the RTI Act, disclosure of an interest in the information sought would be necessary to establish the bonafides of the applicant”.
· Some of the nature of the information sought, the court ruled, was invasive of individuals’ privacy, which is under the Right to Information law.
· However, if the Court’s order were to be implemented, it would go against the spirit of the transparency law.
· If an applicant suspected of corruption or nepotism in a matter of government operation, and were to seek information that could help bring this to light to expose the corruption.
· Now the applicants’ security in such an instance is also vunerable.
· Section 4 of the transparency law calls for proactive disclosure of information by the government to ensure that the need for applications gets reduced.
· Relevant information on transfer policies and transfers are to be made public, similar information could be shared on appointments, discretionary or otherwise.
· To be sure, some matters will always involve subjectivity and discretion, but transparency on a broadly acceptable principle behind a subjective call can always be shared with the public.
Dev 4 years
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IAS Parliament 4 years
