The passing of bills without Parliament, including the treasury benches, having any real understanding of what they contained through any rigorous process has accelerated through the Modi era, points out Aakar Patel.
The Maharashtra government has issued a new set of guidelines for its officials on how to interact with legislators and MPs, emphasizing respect, attentiveness, and timely responses.
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.
The Centre informed the Supreme Court that a panel led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to meet on December 10 to select and recommend names for the post of Chief Information Commissioner and information commissioners of the Central Information Commission (CIC).
Assam Chief Information Commissioner Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta resigned after an RTI request sought data on government funds given to his brother, who is linked to the death of singer Zubeen Garg. Mahanta cited his conscience and the need to avoid suspicion as reasons for his resignation.
Chidambaram said that Operation Black Thunder was the right way to retrieve the Golden Temple, by keeping the Army out of the Sikh worship place.
NCP leader Zeeshan Siddique alleges a 'casual' approach by Mumbai police in the investigation into his father, Baba Siddique's, murder. He cites procedural delays and reluctance to take decisive action.
Relatives of a woman doctor who committed suicide in Maharashtra are demanding capital punishment for the men she accused of rape and harassment in a note. The case involves a police officer and allegations of political pressure to alter medical reports.
Erroneous payments were made to 77,980 women and 12,431 men, many of whom did not qualify for the scheme's benefits.
210 deaths were directly attributed to commuters falling from overcrowded trains.
'Most pollution boards across the country have unused funds. There is practically no reason why pollution should not be a political priority.'
A businessman in Kerala has released CCTV footage allegedly showing police officers assaulting restaurant employees in custody. The businessman claims the incident occurred in May 2023 and that his attempts to seek justice have been met with resistance.
Notably, one of her earlier viral videos featured her wearing a Kerala sari and attending a Theyyam performance in Kannur.
Justice Subramonium Prasad issued notice to the Centre seeking its stand on the former MP's petition for a direction to the authorities to give an "effective response" to his query.
The National Sports Governance Bill has become an Act after President Droupadi Murmu gave her assent to the landmark legislation that promises to revamp India's sports administration.
The Delhi high court said on Friday the purpose of Right to Information (RTI) Act is to bring in transparency, and if any information has been sought, it should be made public unless exempted from disclosure under the law.
'Even as the Supreme Court's anti-punitive demolition judgment nears its first anniversary, no formal contempt proceedings have been initiated either by the Supreme Court or any high court against officers or demolition squads who have acted in violation of it.'
Roger Binny, if BCCI state unit members agree, can continue till 75 which is now the cut-off age for office bearers of National Sports Federations
Delhi University (DU) has informed the Delhi High Court that it is willing to show its records on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's degree to the court, but not disclose it to "strangers" under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. The university's solicitor general, Tushar Mehta, argued that the "right to privacy" superseded the "right to know" in this case, and that allowing disclosure would expose the university to RTI applications for information about lakhs of its students. The court has reserved its verdict on the matter.
The court stated that creating an absolute bar on the disclosure of information to non-citizens would be contrary to the purpose and object of the RTI Act itself, and the same cannot be read into the legislation.
'Everyone involved in this transaction must be punished and penalised.'
It is sad that the legislative pre-consultation on such an important bill is being done in a very biased manner, notes Shailesh Gandhi, former Central Information Commissioner, recounting his experience with Minister Rajeev Chandrashekhar.
The National Sports Governance Bill was on Tuesday passed by the Parliament with Rajya Sabha giving its nod a mere 24 hours after Lok Sabha.
It has granted states and the Centre three weeks to furnish the information, and posted the plea filed by RTI activist Anjali Bhardwaj for hearing after that.
Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said the Sports Bill is a key reform aimed at building a "transparent, accountable and world-class sports ecosystem" in India.
The BJP has accused AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal of an "extravagant lifestyle" after an RTI reply revealed that Rs 3.69 crore was spent annually on maintaining his former bungalow. Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva cited the RTI response, claiming that Kejriwal, who came to power on promises of serving the common man, is contradicting his promises with his lavish spending. The BJP is demanding an explanation from Kejriwal on the excessive maintenance costs.
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.
Observing that the trial court conducted proceedings with a "predetermined notion of conviction", a division bench of Justices AS Supehia and Vimal K Vyas quashed the CBI court's order sentencing Solanki and the six others to life imprisonment.
'Sometimes we succeed, sometimes we don't.' 'But you can use the RTI to improve the future.'
The Gujarat University on Thursday told the high court in Ahmedabad the Right to Information Act cannot be used for satisfying someone's "childish curiosity" as it defended its petition seeking quashing of an order under the transparency law to provide information on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's degree to Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal.
The FIR, filed in December 2022 by M G Nagaraja, alleged that the 24-year-old Paris Olympian, along with his brother Chirag Sen, had fudged their age to get into playing age-group tournaments since 2010.
Indian non-profit 'Educate Girls' wins the Ramon Magsaysay Award for its work in educating out-of-school girls in remote villages. The award recognizes selfless service to the peoples of Asia.
During an open house discussion with stakeholders on the draft Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) bill 2022, Chandrasekhar said that the right to privacy is a fundamental right while the right to information is not. "Right to privacy is a fundamental right and right to information is not.
The development follows a joint operation by Madhya Pradesh's State Tiger Strike Force, Rajasthan forest department, and Sawai Madhopur-based NGO Tiger Watch last month that led to the arrest of six poachers, including three from Rajasthan.
Police have registered a cheating case against an alleged bogus doctor, who had also served as Bharatiya Janata Party Jabalpur medical cell's co-convener, after a complaint that he worked in a government hospital in Jabalpur on a fake degree, officials said.
Mumbai-based pharma major Wockhardt, which is gearing up to launch its promising antibiotic candidate Zaynich soon, on Friday announced a shift in its United States (US) operations. The Indian pharma giant revealed that it has decided to exit the generics pharmaceutical segment in the country.
Patel emphasised that one of the most important features of the bill is the establishment of a dedicated tribunal for resolving disputes, reducing the burden on the judiciary and ensuring quicker justice.
The CIC, the top appellate body in RTI matters, went through the law, orders of the Supreme Court, the Law Commission of India report, submissions of the Central Public Information Officer in the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports to conclude that the status, nature and functional characteristics of the BCCI fulfil required conditions of Section 2(h) of the RTI Act.
The Supreme Court of India has ruled that using terms like "miyan-tiyan" and "Pakistani" does not constitute an offence of hurting religious sentiments, though the court acknowledged that such language is in "poor taste". The court discharged a man who had been accused of using these terms against an Urdu translator in Jharkhand.
Geetanjali Krishna explains why this may slow down India's fight against corruption.
