There is a possibility that the RTI Act will be abolished within “five-six years”, going by the way it is being diluted through “unnecessary” amendments brought in by the government, a former judge of the Supreme Court has cautioned.
Addressing a gathering on the RTI Act, Justice Madan B. Lokur said the amendments were undermining transparency and weakening the public’s ability to hold the authorities accountable.
He appealed to the people to raise their voice against the recent amendment to the RTI Act that the government was trying to introduce through the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023.
Section 44(3) of the DPDP Act, 2023, which is yet to be notified, amends Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act, 2005, prohibiting the sharing of all “personal information”.
Explaining how the 2023 amendment would affect the RTI Act, Justice Lokur cited an anecdotal instance of the authorities refusing to reveal the name of the contractor who got the tender to build a bridge that had caved in, saying it fell under the purview of “personal information”.
“Who do you file the case against if you don’t know the name of the contractor?” Justice Lokur asked.
He said a bridge collapse would not only inconvenience people but also result in financial losses as a large amount of public money was being spent on building them.
“Attempts are being made to weaken the RTI Act in the last 10-15 years,” Justice Lokur said, citing a report that revealed that several posts of information commissioners (ICs) were lying vacant across the country.
“Kamzor karte karte logon ko appoint nahin kiya ja raha hai. Aise shanka hai ki panch-chhai saalon ke baad isko bandh na kar de (In an attempt to weaken the law, they are not appointing information commissioners. There is a possibility that the government may abolish the RTI Act after five-six years),” Justice Lokur said.
He also apprehended that the government might bring changes in the appointment of the chief information commissioner (CIC) and ICs.
The term of office for the CIC and ICs was reduced to three years from five years in the 2019 amendment to the RTI Act, he said.
At the event, Justice Lokur unveiled a study on the “Report Card of Information Commissions in India, 2023-24”, prepared by the Satark Nagrik Sangathan.
The report said 4,05,509 cases were pending on June 30, 2024, in the 29 information commissions.
Justice Lokur said the pendency might increase if timely appointments of ICs were not made.