Security agencies may lose immunity

Some of the security and intelligence agencies, which currently enjoy immunity from public scrutiny of their functioning, may soon be brought under the realm of the Right to Information (RTI) Act of 2005, as the government is finalising amendments to the Act.

This is one of the key recommendations of a study before the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, as it reviews the landmark law that had brought in considerable transparency in the function of the public institutions.

According to sources, the government may bring in the Bill to amend the RTI Act, 2005, in the next session of Parliament.

Officials in the Ministry of Home affairs (MHA) said they were working on a proposal to exclude some of the security and intelligence organisations from Schedule 2 of the RTI Act. This schedule lists organisations which are exempt from the purview of the Act.

Besides, the government is also likely to include more public agencies in Section 4(1) of the Act, which makes the publication of information compulsory for such offices.

Another amendment, being considered seriously by the government in the RTI Act, is to set up benches in the Information Commissions, which would decide on appeals and review petitions under the RTI, Act. This, officials said, was been done “so that nothing legally wrong is done”.

An MHA official said that “there were a lot of misgivings on this proposed amendment among the people.’’ However he clarified that the benches would only take up review petitions and appeals while the commission would deal with complaints and petitions.