PM for maintaining fine balance between RTI,
privacy
Friday October 12, 2012 02:50:08 PM,
IANS
|
|
|
New Delhi: Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh Friday called for fine balance between
right to information and right to privacy, an issue that cropped
up after Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi sought details of
Congress chief Sonia Gandhi's foreign travel bills, which include
those for health reasons.
Addressing the annual convention of information commissioners
here, Manmohan Singh highlighted the concerns over possible
infringement of personal privacy with the government providing
information under the RTI (Right To Information) Act, 2005.
Public authorities should not view the law as "an irritant" but as
one that does collective good, he said, indicating that there were
concerns about "frivolous and vexatious use" of the act in
demanding information, the disclosure of which cannot possibly
serve any public purpose.
"Concerns have also been raised regarding possible infringement of
personal privacy while providing information under the RTI Act."
"There is a fine balance required to be maintained between the RTI
and the right to privacy, which stems out of the fundamental
rights to life and liberty," Manmohan Singh said at the event.
The prime minister said the citizens' right to know should
"definitely be circumscribed" if disclosure of information
encroaches upon someone's personal privacy.
"But where to draw the line is a complicated question," he said,
but did not mention Modi's demand that Sonia Gandhi's travel bills
be made public while citing media reports of an RTI response from
the government in this regard.
Referring to a Supreme Court order on appointment of retired apex
court judges and high court chief justices as heada of Central
Information Commission (CIC) and state information commissions (SICs),
the prime minister said he was aware there had been "some
confusion" about its implications on composition of the CIC and
SICs.
"As you might be aware, the government has decided to go in review
before the Supreme Court in this matter," he said, a day after the
central government moved a petition seeking review of the Sep 13
apex court order.
Manmohan Singh also noted that issues relating to how much
information relating to entities set up under public-private
partnerships (PPP) be disclosed under RTI too needed to be
addressed.
He said blanket extension of the RTI Act to such PPP bodies may
discourage private enterprises to enter into partnerships with the
public sector. A blanket exclusion, on the other hand, may harm
the cause of accountability of public officials, he added.
"This important legislation should not be only about criticising,
ridiculing, and running down public authorities. RTI should be
more about promoting transparency and accountability, spreading
information and awareness and empowering the citizen."
Citizens, Manmohan Singh said, feel empowered because of the RTI
as 95.5 percent applications relating to central government
authorities are cleared at the first stage.
"The potential for good, constructive use of the RTI is perhaps
far greater than what its current status would indicate," he said,
adding that there was need to "change perceptions" on RTI among
public authorities.
|
Home |
Top of the Page
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
I |
|
|
More Headlines |
India, China slowdown pulls down Asia |
20 dead in Bangladesh storm |
Maharashtra chemist shops to close for
three-day strike |
Setback for riot victims, Britain ends
no contact with Modi policy |
New policy should not make medicines costly: SC |
Technopark firm launches platform for interactive magazines |
Fond of sharing porn online, MMS? Get ready
to land in jail |
Royal Enfield launches Thunderbird 500 |
Decision on new drug pricing policy by mid-November |
Assocham to urge Mamata to support FDI in
retail |
|
Top Stories |
New policy should not make medicines costly: SC
Protecting the people's interest, the Supreme Court Thursday told
the government that medicines should continue to be available at
reasonable prices even after
»
Decision on new drug pricing policy by mid-November
US pushing India to hike cancer drug price
|
|
Most Read |

Setback for riot victims, Britain ends
no contact with Modi policy
In a severe blow to the victims of the 2002 Gujarat riots who are
fighting for justice since more than a decade, Britain has ended
its official no-contact policy with Gujarat after the 2002 riots
and will »
|
Fond of sharing porn online, MMS? Get ready
to land in jail
Sharing
porn or obscene videos online or through multimedia messaging
services (MMS) may soon attract a prison term up to seven years
and a maximum fine of Rs.500,000, the government proposed
Thursday. These stringent punishments are part of the amendments
proposed
»
|
|
News Pick |
Salafists: New obsession of the West?
So, it was with this in mind I read Husain’s blog post recently on
the CFR website about how he plunged into the lion’s den in search
of Salafists. He didn’t disappoint. Right off the bat, Husain
tells us that Salafism and Wahabism are the most “dangerous,
destructive strain of thought.” So he wasn’t looking for my
father’s
»
|
Relax, don't do last minute studies before
CAT, say experts
Those
taking the Common Admission Test (CAT) for entry to various
business schools in the country Oct 11-Nov 6 are advised to relax
and not indulge in too much last-minute studies, say experts. The
CAT is held every year »
|
Karnataka holds on to Belgaum with second secretariat
By getting President Pranab Mukherjee to unveil Karnatakas second
state secretariat Suvarna Soudha in this northern city Thursday,
the government has sought to consolidate its stranglehold on the »
|
Congress
govt implicating Muslims in cooked up terror plots: BJP Chief
Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) party chief Nitin Gadkari accused the
Congress of implicating Muslim youth in false terror cases and
blamed
»
'Investigating Agencies are biased against Muslims'
Compensation, certificates to 61 Muslim youths
tortured in blast case
|
|
Picture of the Day |
 |
Prime
Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh presenting the trophy for the best
branch of CBI to M.S. Khan, SP, CBI, ACB, Bhubaneswar at the
19th Conference of CBI and State Anti-Corruption Bureaux, in
New Delhi on October 10, 2012. |
|
|
|
|