Goa vigilance department demanded to be put beyond the purview of the RTI Act
1 Aug, 2013
The reply to an application filed under the Right to Information (RTI) Act has revealed that the Goa Directorate of Vigilance sought to exempt itself from the purview of RTI Act. The reply shows that the vigilance department of Goa had moved a note in July 2013 to the state government seeking to exempt its officials from the purview of the transparency Act.
The note, moved by Deputy Director, Deputy Superintendent of Police and Public Information Officer (PIO) of vigilance, stated that the investigations carried out by the vigilance department were of sensitive nature with direct consequences and thus require confidentiality. It also claimed that most of the RTI applications sought information because of personal grudge.
However, the Chief Secretary of Goa overruled granting of any such exemption. He held that under Section 8 of RTI Act, exemption has already been granted to the department on issues of sensitive nature. He also contended that granting blanket exemption would not be a healthy instance for ensuring transparency and accountability.
The RTI applicant has demanded an inquiry by the Chief Minister into the conduct of these officials to ascertain the reason for which they sought exemption from transparency.