NEW DELHI : There is no need to amend the Right to Information Act as the law is perfect, says new Chief Information Commissioner Vijai Sharma as he appealed to public authorities to set their internal machineries right so that more information is in public domain and there is no need for RTI pleas.
Citing the case of six political parties which did not follow orders of the Commission bringing them under the RTI Act, Sharma was asked whether there are lacunae in the Act which let the erring public authorities go unpunished and more powers could be given to the panel.
A full bench of the Commission of which Sharma was a member had conceded that since the political parties did not appoint an information officer, the panel cannot impose a penalty as such proceedings can only be initiated against a Central Public Information Officer as per law.
“We are here to implement the Act as it is. My experience has been I don’t think so (need for amendment). The act as it is OK. In so far as the objective of the RTI is concerned and the objective of the RTI Act is to ensure easing access to Information, the Act that we have today that is alright and serves its purpose,” he said in an exclusive interview to PTI.
When asked whether the political parties not following orders of CIC may set a wrong precedent as other public authorities may ignore its orders in future, Sharma said several High Courts have termed the Commission as a tribunal where it hears both sides and give its opinion on the basis of what is given in the law.
The Chief said while “precedence” is important the situations can be different in different cases.
After assuming charge as as seventh Chief of the CIC,
Sharma, who is a former bureaucrat like all his predecessors, told PTI that public authorities have to set their own internal machineries right so that more and more information is put in public domain thus avoiding need for RTI pleas.
Asked about public authorities not following orders of the Commission on putting travel expenses of the Ministers in public domain, Sharma said any public authority which does not follow the orders needs to be “penalised”.
“There can be no doubt that order which has been passed by this Commission have to be complied with and if there is a complaint that has to be attended to in accordance with law,” he said.
Despite orders of the Commission and orders of the DoPT, travel expenses of the ministers are not being put in public domain by the NDA Government, a practice which was followed by erstwhile UPA Government.
Sharma said that when an information seeker approaches a public authority, it should be able to provide information in accordance with the time period provided and that information should be relevant.
“It should not be evasive information,” he said.
He said public authorities should identify flippant, frivolous and vexatious applications through “some objective criteria, some determinant criteria” and attended to in a way which ensures that the genuine RTI applicants do not get handicapped. (AGENCIES)
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