COMMENTS / OBJECTIONS / SUGGESTIONS : ref:PN/DoPT/OM/2010/RTI/AAA-0000-008

To:
The Government of India, by
Shri R.K.Girdhar
Under-Secretary/RTI
Department of Personnel and Training, North Block
New Delhi 110011

1) CONFIDENTIAL,
2) SECRET,
3) My Intellectual property,
4) Not to be disclosed to any unauthorised person,
5) Not to be disclosed to any private person whatsoever,
6) Not to be disclosed to Prime Minister or his office,
7) Not to be disclosed to National Advisory Council,
8) Not to be disclosed under Right to Information except to myself,

BY EMAIL:

Date:  21-December-2010
Your Ref: OM dated 10.12.2010 in File No.1/35/2008-IR (draft RTI Rules)
Our Ref:  PN/DoPT/OM/2010/RTI/AAA-0000-008
Subject Objections and/or Suggestions to the amendments proposed

Sir,

I refer to the above citations and your subject OM. I am caused to submit the following objection(s) and/or suggestion(s) to the same.
This is separate, distinct and without prejudice to other objections I may submit from time to time within the period allowed..

http://persmin.gov.in/WriteReadData/RTI/RTI_rules_01122010-1.pdf

I generally OBJECT that the source of power to the Central Government to frame these impugned draft rules is not clear and/or does not exist . I say this for the following REASONS

i) FOR, the Act defines "prescribed" to mean "prescribed by rules made under this Act by the appropriate Government or the competent authority, as the case may be;"

ii) FOR, section 27(1) of the Act confers upon the Central Government a general power to make rules to carry out the provisions of the Act.

iii) FOR section 27(2) of the Act while specifying certain of the aforesaid provisions, concludes that rules may be notified for "any other matter which is required to be, or may be, prescribed."

The combined reading of these clauses necessarily means

A) That Rules can only be notified to carry out the provisions of the Act.
B) That Rules cannot be notified for matters not provided for in the Act or which cannot be prescribed.
C) That section 27 of the Act, which is now claimed to be the source of the power to notify the Rules, is not a blank cheque to the Central Government to dismantle the basic structure of the RTI Act, or to dilute the letter or spirit of the RTI Act in any way.

It is noteworthy that the duly notified RTI rules in force since 2005 only specified sub-section 27(2) as the source of the Central Govt's power to prescribe rules. The present draft rules seek to enlarge the power now as flowing from section 27(1) in addition, but without clearly specifying the PROVISION of the parent Act which requires to be carried out.

It is also pertinent, and you may take careful notice of this singular fact, that I was the other Co-Respondent with the Central Information Commission ("CIC") in Division Bench Judgment of the the Delhi High Court d/d 22-May-2010 described by me as "Delhi Development Authority versus Central Information Commission and Anr.", where the Hon'ble Court struck down the RTI Central Information Commission Management Regulations 2007 as being bad in law. The Hon'ble Court has comprehensively dealt with the issue of RTI Rules and requirement to clearly specify the source of power to prescribe  rules in its reasoned judgement, which inter-alia struck down the power of CIC to constitute benches on my submissions. It was my case that the CIC is a "body" constituted u/s
12(1) and must decide matters as collegium. These issues are now sub-judice before the Hon'ble Supreme Court and the DoPT is not a party therein. Hence also, I view the publication of this present OM as a blatant attempt to influence due course of justice to favour the CIC and to enable CIC to withdraw their pending SLP in the Court. This also constitutes criminal contempt of court as the Hon'ble Court is seized of these matters.

I therefore SUGGEST that a careful examination / review be made clause wise to the source of power of these sundry Rules, and the same may be provided to all objectors to allow us to file meaningful objections..

Submitted in my individual capacity by

Er. Sarbajit Roy
B-59 Defence Colony
New Delhi 110024
Tel : 09311448069
email ID: "sroy.mb@gmail.com"

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