President of India,
New Delhi
"RTI should be circumscribed if it encroaches on privacy: PM Manmohan Singh" & "No frivolous, personal-in-nature RTI queries: Central information commission"...
In view of the above, please direct Mr Ajit Seth Cabinet Secretary to GOI to book Dr Manmohan Singh under IT Act 66A & other relevant IPCs for knowingly telling a white lie on use of RTI to wrongly show We the People in poor light and discourage use of RTI by the concerned citizens.
--
(Babubhai Vaghela)
C 202, Shrinandnagar V, Makarba Road Vejalpur, Ahmedabad - 380051
M - 94276 08632
http://twitter.com/BabubhaiVaghela
About me in Annexure at - http://bit.ly/9xsHFj
http://www.youtube.com/user/vaghelabd
(Administrator - Google Group - Right to Information Act 2005)
http://groups.google.com/group/Right-to-Information-Act-2005/about?hl=en
DoPT Letter dated 01.11.12 to Babubhai Vaghela in response to representation to PM - https://t.co/Mrw7T7wd
No frivolous, personal-in-nature RTI queries: Central information commission
Dec 17, 2012, 03.36AM IST TNN
LUCKNOW: In response to a query under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, the the Central Information Commission (CIC), New Delhi, denied it had any 'frivolous or personal-in-nature' applications available in the records. This is against statement of chief information commissioner (CIC) Satyanand Mishra at a seminar on RTI, organized in the city recently, in which he said, people had not understood the basics of the RTI Act, and that many applications received by the central information commission (CIC) were personal in nature, adding that information should be sought in public interest. In response, RTI activist Urvashi Sharma moved the commission which denied receiving queries frivolous or personal in nature.
The applicant had sought information about all applications available in CIC, at any other office affiliated to it by way of complaints, appeals, RTI applications or by any other source, that were personal in nature. The information was also sought about the "frivolous RTIs that were filed to hog the limelight".
In response to the query, the CIC denied that it ever got any such application. The chief public information officer (CPIO) of CIC Pankaj KP Shreyaskar said "no such information in this regard is available with the commission." It contradicts the claims made time and again that 70% of the information filed under RTI seek personal information. The RTI activists expressed concern over such projections as they discourage RTI-users.
From: Babubhai Vaghela <vaghelabd@yahoo.com>
Date: Fri, Oct 12, 2012 at 3:38 PM
Subject: "Voicing concern over frivolous and vexatious use of RTI Act, PM..... (What is not misused in this world? Even Kitchen Knife. But to what %ge? )...
To: Manmohan Singh <manmohan@sansad.nic.in>
Cc: feedback2chairman@iocl.co.in, riseindiarise@googlegroups.com, Vaghela B D <vaghelabd@yahoo.com>, right-to-information-act-2005 <Right-to-Information-Act-2005@googlegroups.com>, Gujarat High Court Ahmedabad <rg-hc-guj@nic.in>, Supreme Court of India <supremecourt@nic.in>, Arun Jaitley Opposition Leader Rajya Sabha <ajaitley@sansad.nic.in>, Meira Kumar Speaker Lok Sabha Parliament <speakerloksabha@sansad.nic.in>, Hamid Ansari Vice President of India <vpindia@sansad.nic.in>, Pranab Mukherjee President of India <presidentofindia@rb.nic.in>
Dear Dr Manmohan Singh,
Voicing concern over frivolous and vexatious use of RTI Act, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday said the citizens' right to know should definitely be circumscribed if it encroaches on an individual's privacy.
(Babubhai Vaghela)
C 202, Shrinandnagar V, Makarba Road Vejalpur, Ahmedabad - 380051
M - 94276 08632
http://twitter.com/BabubhaiVaghela
About me in Annexure at - http://bit.ly/9xsHFj
http://www.youtube.com/user/vaghelabd
(Administrator - Google Group - Right to Information Act 2005)
http://groups.google.com/group/Right-to-Information-Act-2005/about?hl=en
RTI should be circumscribed if it encroaches on privacy: PM Manmohan Singh
Oct 12, 2012, 12.00PM IST PTINEW DELHI: Voicing concern over frivolous and vexatious use of RTI Act, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday said the citizens' right to know should definitely be circumscribed if it encroaches on an individual's privacy.
"There is a fine balance required to be maintained between the right to information and the right to privacy, which stems out of the fundamental right to life and liberty. The citizens' right to know should definitely be circumscribed if disclosure of information encroaches upon someone's personal privacy. But where to draw the line is a complicated question," he said.
Addressing the seventh convention of central information commissioners, the Prime Minister said, "There are concerns about frivolous and vexatious use of the Act in demanding information disclosure of which cannot possibly serve any public purpose."
Singh said such queries besides serving little productive purpose are also a drain on the resources of public authorities, diverting precious man-hours that could be put to better use.
"Sometimes information covering a long time-span or a large number of cases is sought in an omnibus manner with the objective of discovering an inconsistency or mistake which can be criticised," he said.
Touching upon the area of public-private partnerships, the Prime Minister said blanket extension of the RTI Act to such bodies may discourage private enterprises to enter in partnership with public sector whereas a blanket exclusion may harm accountability of public officials.
The Prime Minister's remarks come close on the heels of the Supreme Court as also the Central Information Commission's adverse criticism of frivolous RTI applications.
Stressing on the privacy issue, Singh said the issue of a separate legislation on privacy is under consideration of an expert group under Justice A P Shah.
Referring to a recent Supreme Court order terming information commissions as judicial bodies, the Prime Minister said the government has decided to go in for review of the verdict before the apex court.
Singh said there was also a need to change perceptions about the right to information, noting that it should not be viewed as an irritant "but something that is good for us collectively".
"Rights cannot stand in isolation and must always be accompanied by reciprocal obligation...I believe that all of us share a responsibility to promote more constructive and productive use of the Right to Information Act. This important legislation should not only be about criticising, ridiculing and running down public authorities," he said.
Singh said the Act should be more about promoting transparency and accountability, spreading information and awareness and empowering the citizen.
"I believe that the right to information can be utilised for even better results to the benefit of our country and the people. It needs to be remembered that the ultimate goal of the legislation is to induce more efficiency in the work of the government and help it serve the people better," he said.
Earlier, speaking on the occasion, minister of state for personnel and training V Narayanasamy said there is a need to create awareness about responsible use of the Act.
"It has to be ensured that it (information) does not infringe upon personal sensitive information of individuals. Personal liberty is very important. Each society has its own concept of privacy. There is need to define what is personal information and what is sensitive information," he said.
He said people using the RTI Act to expose corruption must be protected and Whistleblowers' Protection Bill is a step in that direction.
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