NATIONAL

Published: October 28, 2015 02:53 IST | Updated: October 29, 2015 12:35 IST
NEW DELHI, October 28, 2015

CIC turning down more RTI requests now

Rukmini S.

RTI activists have asked for greater transparency in the process of turning down requests
The Central Information Commission has admitted fewer and fewer cases every month this year, under the Right to Information Act, data
show, and RTI activists have asked for greater transparency in the process of turning down requests.
Cases come before the CIC in two ways: if an applicant is not satisfied with the response to his or her request for information from a Central
government authority, and with the verdict of the first appeal made to the authority concerned, he or she can approach the CIC for the second
appeal.
Additionally, if a citizen has a complaint his or her request was not taken or wrong information was given or he or she has faced threats
he or she can come directly before the CIC.
Data from the CICs website show that from September last to June this year, the CIC admitted between 2,500 and 3,500 cases every month.
However, since June, the number of cases the CIC admits has crashed precipitously, falling to just 119 last
month.
While it is likely that this means a larger number of applicants are having their requests turned down, there is
no data for this, said RTI activist Lokesh Batra.
RTI question
In response to his RTI question whether the CIC maintained a record of all cases received by it and those
returned, the CIC said it did not.
As a result, the high volume of pending cases before the CIC 34,382 as of Tuesday has begun to shrink, but
for reasons that undermine the Acts objectives, activists say.
The CIC says it is not rejecting requests but is returning them for technical deficiencies, including lack of
proper identification. However, it has not made public details of these requests being returned, nor why the
need to return requests has suddenly arisen.
RTI activists who met Central Information Commissioner Vijai Sharma on Tuesday asked for a
searchable database of all requests for information, along with reasons for rejection or return,
Anjali Bhardwaj of the National Campaign for the Peoples Right to Information said.

Moreover, the persons whose requests are getting turned down for technical deficiencies are
likely to be the poorest with the least voice, she said.
Printable version | Oct 30, 2015 5:29:52 PM | http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/centralinformation-commission-turning-down-more-rti-requests-now/article7811266.ece
The Hindu