Legal notice served to PM over his speech by an eleven year old girl
20 Dec, 2012It has been widely reported in the media that in response to the comments of the Prime Minister on the alleged misuse of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, a legal notice has been served upon him an 11-year old girl of Lucknow, Urvashi Sharma.
She has referred to the speech made by Shri Singh on October 12, 2012, at the Annual Convention of Information Commissioners in New Delhi, where he said “There are concerns about frivolous and vexatious use of the Act in demanding information, the disclosure of which cannot possibly serve any public purpose. Sometimes information covering a long time-span or a large number of cases is sought in an omnibus manner with the objective of discovering an inconsistency or mistake which can be criticised. Such queries, besides serving little productive social purpose, are also a drain on the resources of the public authorities, diverting precious man-hours that could be put to better use”.
She has claimed that the RTI activists across the country were deeply hurt by his remarks. She has demanded either to furnish documentary evidence to corroborate the alleged remarks within a period of 60 days or face legal action.
While one may agree or disagree with the remarks of the Prime Minister, it is amusing to take note of the fact that not only a young child can understand the speech of the Prime Minister, but also has enough knowledge of the process of law to issue a notice to the PM. A young child of her age is expected to be in school, perhaps studying in class VI and playing with fellow children. Indians have been labelled as ‘argumentative’ but the coming generation seems to be ready to fight for their ‘rights’ in the court.
Under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) 1860, Section 89 stipulates that an act done in good faith for benefit of a person under 12 years of age by consent, either express or implied, by the guardian or other person having lawful charge is not an offence by reason of any harm. This exception is not available if there is an intention to cause death or grievous hurt. A child below 12 years (minor) cannot give consent, and parents/guardian can consent for their medical/surgical procedures. Source - http://www.indianpediatrics.net/dec2010/dec-1039-1046.htm