New Delhi: Country's first Chief Information
Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah has written to Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh opposing exemption of CBI from the ambit of the
RTI Act saying it could be "counter productive" in the light
of prevalent mood in the country against corruption.
Habibullah, now the Chairperson of the National Commission
for Minorities had said that CBI does not collect intelligence
or performs security related duties and does not "fit" the
criteria laid down for organisations, listed under second
schedule of Section 24 of the RTI, which are exempted from
disclosing information under the Act.
"Given the public mood around the country against
corruption, exempting the CBI could be counter-productive. The
same might be said for exempting others such as National
Investigation Agency (NIA) which also perform investigative
functions," Habibullah had written to Prime Minister soon
after Committee of Secretaries recommended exemption to CBI
from the ambit of the RTI Act.
In a three page letter to the Prime Minister,
Habibullah wrote that Standing Committee of Parliament on
Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice, which vetted
the RTI bill in 2004-05, observed in the Section 24 was
intended "solely for agencies involved in duties relating to
national security and maintenance of law and order."
PTI
First Published: Monday, June 20, 2011, 16:21