The outfit suggested that the government amend the Information Technology Act to classify all such content as pornography, which people should only be able to access by punching in their Aadhaar details or their fingerprints. Archis Mohan reports
Former Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer M G Devasahayam, who was one of the signatories to the representation on the credibility of electronic voting machines (EVMs), voter-verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) and the vote-counting process, had filed an application with the poll panel under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, seeking details of the action taken on it.
The Election Commission (EC) has announced 17 new initiatives for the Bihar Assembly polls, including compulsory webcasting, mobile phone-deposit facilities, and measures to improve voter turnout and accessibility.
Former Central Board of Direct Taxes chief K V Chowdary and Information Commissioner Vijai Sharma were on Monday appointed Central Vigilance Commissioner and Chief Information Commissioner, posts which have remained vacant for over nine months on which the government drew some flak.
The Supreme Court of India has sought the government's response on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that challenges the appointment process of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), arguing it's unconstitutional. The PIL, filed by the Centre for Public Interest Litigation, claims the current process, solely through executive appointment by the Prime Minister, undermines the CAG's independence and violates constitutional principles. The court, while acknowledging the importance of institutional trust, questioned the extent to which it should intervene in the appointment process and whether this would constitute rewriting constitutional provisions. The PIL suggests the CAG's appointment should be similar to other independent bodies, with a selection committee comprising the Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition, and Chief Justice of India. The case has implications for the independence and transparency of India's audit system.
A full bench comprising of Chief Information Commissioner Satyanand Mishra and Commissioners M L Sharma and Annapurna Dikshit of the Central Information Commission reserved its verdict on political funding.
The former information commissioner, who is known for his pro-transparency orders in several high-profile cases, said the proposed changes "seriously undermine" the autonomy of information commissions.
The report was made public on the eve of the 16th anniversary of the RTI Act after a study of 20 Information Commissions including the Central Information Commission which have put out data on the cases disposed of and penalties levied by them, a statement from the Satark Nagrik Sangathan said.
The Central Information Commission has held that the External Affairs Ministry should disclose all information related to the Bhopal Gas tragedy, including communication exchanged between it and the Central Bureau of Investigation on the extradition of the then Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson.
'This amendment, if passed, will bring the Information Commission firmly under the authority of the government.'
Durve argued that the word 'secret' is nowhere in the exemption clause under which information could be denied to an applicant.
UK police are appealing for information after an Indian rider's motorbike, used for a round-the-world trip, was stolen in Nottingham. The bike contained the rider's passport, laptop, and other personal belongings.
The Central government should disclose details related to gifts received from foreign countries by the President, Prime Minister, judges and the chiefs of the armed forces, the Central Information Commission has said. Hearing the plea of an Right To Information activist Subhash Chandra Agrawal, information commissioner Annapurna Dixit directed the Ministry of External Affairs to provide information against all categories of political rulers; and in the event when informatio
Acting on an Right to Information application, the commission asked the MEA to furnish the records by June 29.
The disclosure of information related to casualties suffered by army during Kargil war and number of terrorists killed cannot be made public as it would "affect morale of nation", Central Information Commission has held in an order 14 years after the war.
Sandwiched between a Hero MotoCorp showroom and a shop that hires out cooking utensils is a small, dingy building that's been locked up. The non-descript two-room building is a manufacturing unit of Sresan Pharmaceuticals, the pharma company made its Coldriff cough syrup that has allegedly killed 25 children in Madhya Pradesh.
The Central Information Commission has directed the Delhi Police and Central Forensic Science Laboratory, Chandigarh to make public forensic reports in the alleged doctored CD case carrying conversation among lawyers Shanti Bhushan and Prashant Bhushan, Amar Singh and Mulayam Singh Yadav.
Chief Information Commissioner Satyananda Mishra rejected the contentions of the PMO which had claimed that such class of information could not be provided "without compromising interests of the State and other specified concerns".
A foreign country, which now has good relations with India, spread false information on the death of former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri in Tashkent nearly four decades ago, intelligence reports produced on Wednesday by the Prime Minister's Office MO before the Central Information Commission indicate.
The UPA chairperson added that the Centre may "achieve its aims" through majority, but in the process, it would be disempowering each and every citizen of our country.
The Central Information Commission (CIC) has turned down an application seeking cost-related information on the country's unique fast-breeder reactor being developed at Kalpakkam.
Another meeting will be called next week at a mutually-convenient date.
Dragged to courts by stock exchanges, Central Information Commission now wants the Supreme Court to resolve whether bourses can be brought under the purview of the Right to Information Act or not.
"Why cannot the marks under each category of tests (in CAT) as well as the group of aspirants, general and others, be revealed," Information Commissioner M M Ansari sought to know in a recent order on a RTI plea by Mumbai resident Sameer Arora.
Information Commissioner Sushma Singh told the officials of National Aviation Company of India Limited, the company formed after the merger of Air India and Indian Airlines, to give the details of 'pay, perks and privileges' enjoyed by its chairman, managing director and functional directors to Right to Information activist Subhash Chandra Agrawal.
Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah said," The office of Leader of Opposition is a public authority as it is created by a notification of the government," but reserved his decision whether it is part of Lok Sabha secretariat or an independent office.
The Central Information Commission has directed the Income Tax department to make public documents related to tax exemption given to the ICC World Cup held last year in the country.
The Central Information Commission has issued a show-cause notice to Prime Minister's Office for not replying to an RTI query filed nearly one-and-a-half years ago.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has approached the Gujarat high court seeking a review of its recent order setting aside the Central Information Commission's directive to the Gujarat University to provide information on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's degree to the AAP national convener.
Over 40,000 complaints and appeals are pending in the Central Information Commission which is working without its chief for more than nine months.
Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com finds out how the government is seeking to change the RTI Act, and what impact it will have on the Right to Information.
Salient features of the National Sports Governance Bill that promise to overhaul several aspects of sports governance and the grievance redressal system for athletes and administrators alike in the country.
The apex court asked the Gujarat high court to decide within four weeks on a plea filed by the Aam Aadmi Party leaders seeking quashing of the summonses issued to them by the trial court.
In an unusual order, the central information commission has agreed that minutes of tender committee meetings should "ideally" be made public, but left it to the government department concerned to take a call on it.
'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.
Geetanjali Krishna explains why this may slow down India's fight against corruption.
The situation has arisen second time since the Bharatiya Janata Party government came to power in 2014.
Karabi Das approached the ministry seeking information on expenses incurred on the foreign visits of the prime minister in 2015-16 and 2016-17 along with the list of people travelling with him.
Amid the row over her educational qualification, Union Minister Smriti Irani had asked the Delhi University not to disclose it to an RTI applicant, the School of Open Learning has told the Central Information Commission.
'There appears to be no larger public interest overriding the right to privacy of the donors and donees concerned'
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