MP state assembly amends the RTI rules
14 Nov, 2012The secretariat of the Madhya Pradesh state assembly has replaced the rules framed in 2010 by a new set of rules. These new rules shall take the place of the controversial rules framed in November, 2010 which were criticised for restricting the right of an applicant to seek information. These rules required that:
- The applicant would have to cite public interest for seeking the information,
- Only one information could be sought through a single application,
- A specific format could only be used for filing an application.
The MP State Information Commission (SIC) had directed the assembly secretariat to provide a certain set of information to an applicant who had filed an application under the Right to Information Act in 2010 and after the new rules came into existence, the secretariat refused to provide the information. The applicant challenged the new rules in the MP High Court claiming that they were against the provisions of the RTI Act. On not getting any relief, he approached the Supreme Court which issued notice to the assembly secretariat on September 25, 2012, asking it to reply in six weeks. Just as the 6 weeks duration was coming to an end, the MP assembly has amended the rules.