Information Commissioner M L Sharma has resigned from the Central Information Commission after a nearly five-year-long stint. Sharma was part of several landmark decisions including the bringing of political parties under the RTI Act.
The disclosure of files provided by India's second army chief General Sir Roy Bucher to Nehru Memorial Museum and Library about Jammu and Kashmir related to the period of 1947-49, which may throw light on Accession, is in 'national interest,' the central information commission has observed in an order.
In a letter to the Karnataka chief secretary, the Commission said the state government did not obtain prior approval from it for publishing the advertisements, an action violative of the poll code instructions issued to central and state governments years ago.
Some India states are likely to record a significantly higher number of heatwave days, according to the national weather body.
The opposition parties on Sunday slammed the move to hire public servants through lateral entry, claiming it will snatch reservations from SCs, STs and OBCs, but the Bharatiya Janata Party hit back stating the National Democratic Alliance government was bringing transparency to this mode of recruitment started by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance.
'We accept EVMs cannot be hacked because it is not connected, but can they be manipulated?' 'Are you allowing us to check if EVMs can be manipulated?'
The National Human Rights Commission, in its report, also observed that the "pervasive fear of reprisal, coupled with the power dynamics at play, acted as a formidable barrier", preventing individuals from voicing their grievances.
Incidentally, the allegations come at a time when Lawrence Bishnoi is in the news in India for his alleged involvement in the murder of Nationalist Congress Party leader Baba Siddique in Mumbai.
Observing that working conditions have made doctors and health professionals susceptible to violence, the Supreme Court on Tuesday constituted a 10-member task force to formulate a national protocol for ensuring safety and facilities for them in the wake of the rape and murder of a medic in Kolkata.
In doing so, it further cemented the community's determination to support the opposition. But at the same time, it consolidated its Hindu vote bank like never before.
The apex court bench, also comprising justices Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, JB Pardiwala, and Manoj Misra, will assemble at 10.30 am to hear the two petitions.
The bench, headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, will also hear a separate plea which has sought initiation of contempt action against the SBI alleging it "wilfully and deliberately" disobeyed the apex court's direction to submit details of the contributions made to political parties through electoral bonds to the Election Commission by March 6.
Justice Yashwant Varma took on record and accepted the statement made by CIC counsel that all endeavour shall be made to decide the appeal expeditiously and in any case within 8 weeks.
The RTI also sought the details of the fees paid by the SBI to senior advocate Harish Salve to defend its case against the disclosure of the electoral bonds' records, citing that the records are held in a fiduciary capacity and the information is personal in nature.
Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot on Saturday accorded sanction for prosecution of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in connection with Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) site allotment 'scam', giving a major jolt to the nearly 15 month old Congress government.
The court dismissed the petitions filed by Telugu Desam Party chief Naidu and Babu seeking to quash the FIR lodged against them with the Dharmabad police in Maharashtra's Nanded district.
A host of conspiracy theories followed, involving Indira Gandhi, her younger son Sanjay, his favourite small car project, secret funding of the Bangladesh Mukti Bahini and even the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States.
State Bank of India on Monday moved the Supreme Court seeking an extension of time till June 30 to disclose details of each electoral bond encashed by political parties.
The high court on Friday pulled up the police for not questioning any Municipal Corporation of Delhi official till now or even seizing the relevant file from the civic body, which could have been an important piece of evidence.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday held discussions with his cabinet colleagues in the wake of the Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot reportedly issuing him a 'show-cause notice', seen as a precursor to sanctioning his prosecution in the alleged Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) site allotment 'scam'.
Such a legislation, the panel said, should be made applicable not only to the NRIs but also to those individuals who come within the definition of 'Overseas Citizens of India' as laid down in the Citizenship Act, 1955.
The RTI exemptions cited by the CPIO to deny information relate to intellectual property rights, trade secrets and information in the nature of commercial confidence, fiduciary relationship, threat to life and safety of persons who give information to law enforcement agencies in confidence, impediment to investigation, prosecution or apprehension and privacy of an individual.
Batting for larger transparency, the Central Information Commission (CIC) has urged the Committee of Administrators running the Board of Control for Cricket in India to look into the issues raised by historian Ramachandra Guha.
'The prime minister has taken pre-emptive action by not appointing a Chief Information Commissioner at all to render it dysfunctional.'
'The bureaucracy is also hardening its stand and in most cases has realised that the commissioners are not really committed to transparency,' says former Central Information Commissioner Shailesh Gandhi.
They are allegedly the owners of the drugs and had commissioned the trip, police commissioner-general Marthinus Hukom, head of the Indonesian National Narcotic Agency, told reporters at a press conference in Batam.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Thursday rejected allegations of paper leak in medical entrance exam National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET-UG), saying there is no evidence of it.
The situation has arisen second time since the Bharatiya Janata Party government came to power in 2014.
The Prime Minister's Office not disclosing information about expenses incurred on foreign visits of the Prime Minister nothwithstanding, a Central Information Commission-constituted panel has recommended not only putting out such details proactively by all ministries but regular updating as well.
The high court, which refused to prepone the date of hearing of the petition, said an endeavour shall be made to hear and dispose of the petition on April 10.
In a major New year bonanza for the armed forces, the Prime Minister's Office has informed the defence ministry that the armed forces personnel would henceforth have a separate pay commission, which is delinked from the civilian pay panel.
The Information Support Force was regarded as the revised version of the PLA's Strategic Support Force, established in 2015 by the Chinese military to deal with space, cyber, political and electronic warfare to fight what was described as "informationised wars".
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday termed as 'baseless', Union Home Minister Amit Shah's claim that the state government did not heed the Centre's warning regarding a possible natural calamity in Wayanad due to heavy rains.
The Union Health Ministry has said in response to a Right to Information application that it does not know where records related to agenda circulated in meetings of the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19 are held.
The outstanding tax demand by the income tax department on the Board of Control for Cricket in India may go up to over Rs 860 crore, according to an RTI reply from the department.
The Commission concluded that the bank officials had evidently been negligent in failing to compare the signature prior to making payment, notes Jehangir B Gai.
A three-judge bench headed by Justice AM Khanwilkar, by 2:1 majority, held that the grant of the environmental clearance and the notification for change in land use for the project was valid.
"Gandhi's disqualification is illegal and the case is also bogus. I am sure that a higher court in Gujarat will do justice to Gandhi," said Raut, whose party is an ally of the Congress in Maharashtra.
The move followed after the Central Information Commission had in June held that six national parties -- Congress, BJP, NCP, CPI-M, CPI and BSP -- have been substantially funded indirectly by the central government and were required to appoint Public Information Officers as they have the character of a public authority under the RTI Act.
He is seeking disclosure of correspondence between the Central Bureau of Investigation and the law ministry and opinion of the attorney general in the case.
'I gave enough evidence and proof to punish corrupt officials.' 'But my own government has not filed any FIR against such officials.'
