THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Even as the UDF government decision exempting T1 and T2 sections of the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau from the purview of the Right to Information Act has kicked up a row, the government justified the same terming it essential to protect the safety of whistle blowers. Defending the decision, Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala on Tuesday told the assembly that it was a recommendation from the Vigilance director during the previous LDF government’s tenure. Only 1-2% of vigilance cases fall under the T sections, he added.
Chennithala pointed out that disclosing records pertaining to an ongoing investigation, which fall under the top secrets category, could seriously hamper the investigation. Further disclosure of such information could put informants at risk.
Responding to an urgent question in the assembly by K K Valsaraj MLA, the home minister said the files under Section T include details of persons providing information relating to corruption, officers, sources, information collected, and details relating to specific vigilance measures.
Clarifying the government’s decision, he said that the UDF government would not make any move that dilutes the RTI Act. “In 2005, the RTI was introduced by the UPA government when Manmohan Singh was the prime minister. The UDF government in the state will not take any action that would weaken the Act,” he highlighted.
PLEA IN HC AGAINST EXEMPTION
Kochi: RTI Kerala Federation on Tuesday approached the Kerala High Court challenging a government notification exempting the top-secret sections (T1 and T2) of the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) from the purview of the Right to Information (RTI) Act. The petitioner, Jolly Pavelil, general secretary of the federation, submitted that the Act does not confer unfettered power on the state government to exclude information relating to allegations of corruption and human rights violations from its purview.
