NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 14, 2007: Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah has said he is presuming the Government is undertaking a review of the 1923 Official Secrets Act (OSA). Major General V K Singh (Retd) is its latest victim, booked for writing on corruption in the RAW, in view of the transparency regime ushered in by the 2005 Right to Information Act.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Habibullah said: I am very clear that when there is a direct conflict between the OSA and RTI Act, it is the RTI which prevails. The OSA cannot be used in a manner in which it is inconsistent with provisions of the RTI Act.
The OSA is a colonial law that protects the Government from the public. In a democracy, the public is the Government. Earlier, OSA was the guiding principle in terms of custody of information held by the Government. Now custody of information held by the Government has been given to the RTI Act, he said.
According to Habibullah, even on the question of supplying information or documents marked secret (thereby, bringing it under OSA), the competent authority or information officer could use discretionary powers to disclose details. This, he said, was relevant, for instance, to Section 8 (j) of the RTI where a Central Public Information Officer can disclose personal information that has been sought provided public interest in disclosure outweighs the harm to the protected interests.
As per provisions of Section 8 (d) and (e) of the RTI, in case the RTI request pertains to commercial information or information to a person in his fiduciary relationship, the competent authority, if convinced that larger public interest is served, may part with it. The competent authority, Habibullah said, is the Department of Personnel and Training which holds administrative supervision of the RTI.
Even documents marked secret or confidential, which would normally attract provisions of the OSA, can be disclosed since the discretionary provision is there in the RTI Act. And if these requests are turned down, the applicant can always appeal to the CIC and argue about the public interest served. With such RTI provisions, the relevance of OSA has become very limited, he said. His comments are significant given the fact that the Second Administrative Reforms Commission has recommended scrapping of the OSA. The Ministry of Home Affairs is examining the recommendation.
RTI Act will prevail if there is any direct conflict, says CIC
The Government that appointed the second Administrative Reforms Commission? After a comprehensive review of the RTI Act, this Commission, headed by Mr Veerappa Moily, declared that the time had come for the Government to move “from the prevailing culture of secrecy to a new culture of openness”. As regards the Official Secrets Act, it said that this law had “illiberal and draconian provisions” and that it was an anachronism in its present form.
RAW:Shutting out the truth
Good News: All the Welfare Organisations (Governmental and Non Governmental bodies) claiming to provide succour to Service Personnel and Ex- Servicemen under the Society Act of 1860 are subject to Public Scrutiny. It is mandatory for list of beneficiaries and quantum of assistance received by each to be displayed in the public domain. Similarly all veteran organisations with laudable goals should publish full details of beneficiaries in consonance with the directives of the Society Act. It is the moral duty of the Governing body to ensure the aims of the society is amply fulfilled. It is also the duty of every proactive Veteran to ensure that resources of Welfare Organisations are not fretted away.
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