From Economic Times, 29.6.2011, Edit Page. Face Off Should the CBI Come Under the Purview of RTI  JOGINDER SINGH FORMER DIRECTOR CBI Keeping it Outside RTI is the Right Move The Madras High Court has issued a notice,to the Union government on a public interest litigation seeking to declare a recent notification exempting Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) from the purview of Right to Information Act as ultra vires.The position is,that CBI is not only an investigating agency,but also collects information about the corrupt practices and other violations.Some say that it is a retrograde step and the CBI should not be out of the purview of Right to Information Act.It is due to a mistaken impression,as the Right to Information is not an act to combat corruption and malpractices either in the government or in the society.Each law passed by Parliament has a specific purpose.It would be interesting for the agitators,to find out as to how many cases have been registered against corruption and other laws after getting information under RTI.Investigation of cases is done,as per the procedure laid down in the Criminal Procedure Code,within the parameters prescribed by the Indian Evidence Act.Investigation is never done,in the purview of the pubic or media glare.During investigation,CBI checks and cross-checks the facts stated by the witnesses or the alleged accused,before coming to any conclusion about his guilt or otherwise.It can also involve tests like DNA or referring the matter to Forensic Science Laboratory.Not only during the investigation a full picture of any crime is to be constructed,but also credible evidence gathered to prove that a crime has been committed.The so-called activists confuse between a moral wrong and a legal violation of law.In any case,CBI files a charge-sheet,within normally 60 to 90 days.Once the case goes to the court,each charged person is given a complete set of evidence,including the statement of witnesses,scientific evidence,if any,and other complete papers.So all papers of investigation come under the public domain and anybody can get papers from the court.If any new facts are brought out by the so-called activists,a reinvestigation can always be done.The decision taken to save the CBI from busy-bodies who have nothing to do but seek publicity is a right one.  NIKHIL DEY RTI ACTIVIST Decision to Keep it Out is Unjustified The decision to exempt the CBI from the provisions of the RTI Act are completely unjustified.The decision will harm the CBI as well as the RTI Act.In fact,all institutions in the country should be under the purview of the RTI Act.In any case,the exemption for intelligence and security agencies contained under section 24 of the Act cannot apply to an investigating agency.The CBI might carry out some work that requires gathering of intelligence,and it may well investigate many sensitive cases related to security of the state.However,the RTI Act contains adequate safeguards that can protect it from divulging sensitive information.Section 8 of the RTI Act exempts the disclosure of information that would prejudicially affect the security of the state,friendly relations with foreign countries,law and order,safety of an informer,investigation of a crime,etc.There is a fundamental difference between exempting certain classes of information and providing a blanket exemption to the whole agency.By exempting the agency,it is being freed from the standards of transparency and accountability borne out of scrutiny from the citizen.There are many cases the CBI investigates where it needs to work with ordinary citizens in an atmosphere of openness and mutual trust.The CBI enquiry ordered by the Supreme Court of India into corruption in six districts in Orissa is a case in point.In a scenario of poor credibility of investigating agencies,the CBI is still the first one called to investigate matters of grand corruption.As the former director of the CBI who worked under the RTI regime,Vijay Shankar,has said,the RTI will help the CBI perform better and with more credibility.At a time when the government is struggling to show that it can create an effective anti-corruption agency,this move will irreparably damage its own credibility.Finally,this misinterpretation of an intelligence and security agency could open the floodgates to a spate of departments wanting to claim exemption from the RTI.It will be the end of the capacity of the RTI Act to enforce transparency and ensure that accountability is to the people of the country.The government must revoke this decision. --- On Tue, 28/6/11, M.K. Gupta <mkgupta100@yahoo.co.in> wrote:
|
The Right to Information Act 2005, is the biggest fraud inflicted upon on the citizens since the Nehru-Gandhi family.
No comments:
Post a Comment