RTI weakened or not???

The latest Madras High Court order to ask for reasons to file an RTI application form has created a buzz not only among RTI activists but also among citizens. It is being said that this order is going to decrease the power vested in the hands of the citizens.
According to the RTI Act, specially incorporated Section 6 (2), which says an applicant making request for information "shall not" be required to give any reason for requesting the information. Now that the Madrs HC says that applicants should file reasons for seeking the information is actually against the spirit of the Act is what the activists are saying.
The HC, however, said that if informations (sic) are to be furnished to a person, who does not have any reason or object behind seeking such informations... the intention of the legislature is not to effect that such informations are to be given like pamphlets to any person unmindful of the object behind seeking such information.
The questions now arise that will merely asking for a reason, in the long run affect the RTI Act? Will it someday come down to a situation where an officer will tag an application as useless and void of a valid reason and in the long run will the RTI Act seize to exist? Or will the RTI Act be like a bullet-less riffle? Your views and comments are highly recommended.

Comments

Tum Kitne Afzal Maroge, Ghar Ghar Se Afzal Niklega!

It is hard to trace the origin of sloganeering or probably beyond my capability to do so but if we consider the broad meaning then sloganeering is an act to unite like-minded people, incite them and instill within them a sense of oneness, predominately for some cause. If I am not very wrong, if so I can stand corrected, sloganeering was made famous during the early days of uprising by rebels against the tyrannical rulers. In India, during the struggle for freedom, slogans were made to get people together and rise up against the British Raj. "Inkalaab Zindabaad" was one among many that was probably the most used and by far the most useful slogans used during those days. The two words simply mean "Long live Revolution" but the greater meaning had a great impact in the minds of millions who dreamt of waking up in a free country. Inkalaab Zindabaad was so famous that even in today's generation we use it almost anytime we wish to show our dissent towards s...

IS IT ISLAM THAT KILLS?

Terrorism, in the 21st century, is something that has not only shaken up all parts of the world but also has it brought bad name to the Muslims. People all the world over abuse the religion for giving birth to people who spread terror and kill innocents. And on top of that a new radical Muslim group springs up every now and then. But let us think about it rationally. Does all these incidents actually make the religion or so to say the the Quran a piece of shit? Consider a group of people forming a new radical group going about saying that their religion asks them to kill people, that their religion asks them to fight against the innocent. Does that mean we start believing that there is problem in the religious scripts of that religion? Anybody can claim anything, but we have been gifted with a mind which is supposed to be used rationally and not just follow arbitrary nincompoops. It is also baffling to see that whenever a terrorist attack takes place the media all over uses th...

Sangeet Som’s speech a dangerous premonition?

If there is presence of something today, then there has to be a past and this past is known as HISTORY. For example, if you have a metal idol in your hand, the matter was definitely in the form of an ore in some part of its journey. As for a country, well, knowledge about a State comes after reading about its History and to claim to change the same is dangerous and would ensure a dark future. BJP’s controversial lawmaker, Sangeet Som, who apparently paved way for the Muzaffarnagar riots, is back with yet another bizarre comment that he would change History. You may not like the idea that the Mughals ruled India for a long time but you can’t rub it off from History. After all, if your kid asks you who made the Taj Mahal, would you say that the Bharatiya Janata Party laid its foundation stone? His foolishness was also out in the open when he said that the one who built the Taj Mahal had imprisoned his father. Ehh wait a minute, Shah Jahan imprisoned Jahangir? Really? But t...

The World Through My Pen

Search This Blog