RIGHT TO INFORMATION (r2i)

Political parties must publish criminal antecedents of candidates within 48 hours of their selection1
 

Decision:
• With the objective of decriminalisation of politics, the Supreme Court directed that the political parties must publish the criminal antecedents, if any, of the candidates within 48 hours of their selection.
• The Court has also directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to create a dedicated mobile application containing information published by candidates regarding their criminal antecedents, so that at one stroke every voter gets such information on his / her mobile phone.
• Further, the Court has directed the political parties to publish information regarding the criminal antecedents of their candidates on the homepage of their websites, thus making it easier for the voter to get to the information that has to be supplied, and to have on the homepage a caption which states ‘Candidates with criminal antecedents’;
• The ECI was told to carry out an extensive awareness campaign to make every voter aware about his right to know and the availability of information regarding the criminal antecedents of all contesting candidates. The campaign will be carried out across various platforms, including social media, websites, TV ads, prime time debates, pamphlets, etc. Further, a fund must be created for this purpose within a period of four weeks into which fines for contempt of court may be directed to be paid.
• For the aforesaid purposes, the ECI was also directed to create a separate cell which will also monitor the required compliances so that the Apex Court can be apprised promptly of non-compliance by any political party of the directions contained in the Court’s orders as fleshed out by the ECI in instructions, letters and circulars issued in this behalf.

The Supreme Court of India had, while hearing a matter in 2019 on pendency and vacancies in the State Information Commissions (SICs), ordered timely and transparent appointment of Information Commissioners to the respective Commissions set up under the RTI Act, 2005.

A bench of Justices S. Abdul Nazeer and Krishna Murari heard a petition on 18th August, 2021 regarding delay in appointment of Information Commissioners under the RTI Act. During the hearing, it was pointed out that despite the Court ruling, the Union of India and several States had failed to fill the vacancies in their Information Commissions, leading to a large number of pending cases and long delays in the disposal of appeals / complaints.

Information regarding vacancies in some States was provided as below through an additional affidavit:

Maharashtra
In February, 2019 the SC had directed the State to ensure that the Information Commission functions at full strength (one Chief and ten Information Commissioners) given the large backlog of appeals and complaints. However, as on date the commission was functioning with only four Commissioners even though the pendency as of 31st May, 2021 stood at more than 75,000 appeals / complaints. The bench pulled up the State of Maharashtra for not filling the vacancies on the SIC and warned that the Chief Secretary will be summoned if the State fails to fill the vacancies within three weeks.

Karnataka
In 2019, the SC had directed that the SIC should function at full strength for which the Government must sanction all posts. While the State had sanctioned all posts, however, at the hearing it was pointed out that currently three posts are vacant even though there is a backlog of more than 30,000 appeals / complaints. The SC directed the State to fill the vacancies and file a status report.

Odisha
The SC had directed the State of Odisha in 2019 to sanction three additional posts so that the Commission can function with one Chief and six Information Commissioners, given the backlog of cases. In the hearing it emerged that the State had sanctioned only two additional posts and currently the Commission was functioning with only four Commissioners. One post had fallen vacant in November, 2020 and was yet to be filled up, while the Chief had retired on 15th August, 2021. The SC directed the Government to file a status report.

Telangana
The SIC of Telangana has been functioning without a Chief for one year despite the fact that the RTI Act envisages a crucial role for the Chief as the general superintendence, direction and management of the affairs of the SIC vests in the Chief. The SC expressed disappointment at the state of affairs and directed that the appointment should be made by the next date of hearing.

Nagaland
It was highlighted that the previous SIC Chief had retired in January, 2020 and since then no new Chief had been appointed. As a result, for 19 months the Commission has been headless. The State was directed to fill the vacancy and file a status report.

West Bengal
In its February, 2019 judgment, the SC had directed the State Government to create three posts of Commissioners in addition to the sanctioned strength of three (one Chief and two Information Commissioners). During the hearing it was pointed out that currently the Commission is functioning with only two commissioners (one Chief and one Information Commissioner) although nearly 10,000 appeals / complaints are pending before it. The SC pulled up the State Government for failing to file an affidavit before the hearing and for not filling the vacancies.

Jharkhand
The Government of Jharkhand was not a respondent in the case, but it was pointed out that the condition of the Information Commission was alarming as it had been effectively rendered defunct since May, 2020 when the lone Information Commissioner retired. Since then no Information Commissioner or Chief has been appointed and the Commission has been non-functional with people seeking information from public authorities under the jurisdiction of the Jharkhand SIC having no recourse to the independent appellate mechanism prescribed under the RTI Act. The SC expressed anguish at the current state of affairs and directed the State to fill the vacancies and also file a report.

It will be worthwhile to understand the submissions made by the Union of India and the State governments regarding the vacancies and pendencies2.

• RTI reveals Income-tax department, Pune, rejected 90% applications for Section 80G / 12A approval
CA M.L. Baheti moved an RTI application on 9th July, 2021 before the Income-tax Department, Pune, to identify how many 80G / 12A applications had been approved by the Department. The reply to the application revealed that around 90% of the applications filed by an NGO had been rejected for the reasons best known to the Department. Data was obtained for the period from 1st April, 2019 to 31st March, 2021 in respect of the number of applications filed and approved and shows the following alarming facts:

This is the situation of Pune Zone alone, leave aside the entire country. From the above it is clear that the applications for approval of a majority, i.e., 80 to 90%, of cases are being rejected. This non-transparency of the Department has become a hurdle for charitable trusts and NGOs as the whole country is moving from the Covid-19 pandemic situation where the role of NGOs and fast approval for 80-G is very important3.

• Odisha Information Commission brings major private university under RTI purview
The Odisha State Information Commission has declared Kalinga Institute of Industrial Training (KIIT), a deemed university and one of the State’s largest private institutions, as a public authority, which means the university has to furnish information under the Right To Information Act4.

• No authority can force RTI applicant to submit ID
Haryana’s State Information Commission has held that no authority in the State can force an RTI applicant to file the application in a particular format and to disclose any reason for seeking information. The Commission observed that the RTI Act, 2005 is a Central Act and section 6(2) allows an applicant to conceal his / her identity and to seek information without giving any reason5.

• Uttar Pradesh Government spent Rs. 160 crores on TV ads in one year
The Uttar Pradesh Government spent a staggering Rs. 160.31 crores on advertisements on TV news channels between April, 2020 and March, 2021, reveals a right to information reply by the State Government. The RTI divided the State’s ad expenditure into ‘national TV news channels’ and ‘regional TV news channels’. The former got Rs. 88.68 crores and the latter Rs. 71.63 crores6.

• Maharashtra Government spent Rs. 155 crores on publicity campaigns in 16 months
The Directorate-General of Information and Public Relations has informed an RTI activist that Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s Mahavikas Aghadi Government has spent Rs. 155 crores on publicity campaigns in the last 16 months. About Rs. 5.99 crores has been spent on social media and Rs. 9.6 crores on publicity campaigns7 every month.