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DoPT Agrees To Disclose All File Notings Under RTI

By akansha, Section Mall Culture in Kolkata
Posted on Wed Jun 24, 2009 at 11:49:09 PM EST

Caving in to pressure from the Central Information Commission (CIC) and fearing a public outcry, the government has allowed disclosure of all file notings except on subjects exempted under section 8 of the RTI Act. In a circular issued on Monday, DoPT said, "It is hereby clarified that file notings can be disclosed except those containing information exempt from disclosure under Section 8 of the Act."

DoPT's move comes after the commission had issued notices to two officers of the department seeking explanation why they should not be prosecuted under IPC for disobeying its orders. The commission, in its repeated directives, had asked the department to correct its website which said that file notings could not be disclosed under the Act. File notings are observations and remarks made by officials and ministers during file movement.

DoPT minister Prithviraj Chavan said file notings were not part of the amendments proposed to the Act. "File notings will be allowed. There was an ideological difference in government that has now been sorted out," he added.

The minister said the government would amend the Act in due course. "We will amend the Act but to strengthen it," Chavan said.

Source: Times Of India DoPT agrees to disclose all file notings under RTI

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CIC's order that file noting were covered under the RTI Act was accepted by the law ministry and Supreme Court but DoPT continued to maintain on the website that they were exempted from disclosure.

Hearing the plea of RTI activist Subhash Chandra Agrawal, the commission had summoned joint secretary S K Sarkar and deputy secretary Anuradha Chagti to explain why they should not be prosecuted under the Indian Penal Code for ignoring its orders. The next date of hearing was fixed on June 30.

Earlier, the department had argued that the matter had been placed before a committee of secretaries and it could not correct its website until a final decision came from the committee.

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