RTI activist Subhash Chandra Agrawal to hang his boots
5 Mar, 2014With more than 6,000 Right to Information (RTI) applications his credit, Agrawal is a well-known name in the field of RTI and has dogged the headlines of the media for long. His persistent efforts have led to unravelling of many scams and wrong doings.
Agrawal holds a Guinness World Record for his correspondence to newspaper editors and after the passage of the RTI Act, 2005 he gradually made filing a RTI application and following it up into a full time job. He has not only filed the RTI applications himself, but also assisted others to unearth suspected misdeeds. From an average of nearly 30 RTI applications a month for the last eight years, the number of applications has trickled down to just 10 applications over the last three months, and his focus is now on closing the files on the pending cases. Agrawal has virtually worked as one man army.
On his application, the Central Information Commissioner ruled that the office of Chief Justice of India is under the purview of the RTI Act. This decision was subsequently upheld by the High Court of Delhi and the matter is now pending with the Supreme Court.
His house cum office is full of papers replete with folders and thick RTI files covering the shelves, and extending into floor to ceiling wardrobes. He has sought the help from Infosys, Reliance and Azim Premji foundations, among others outside philanthropic foundations and law firms to support him but is yet to hear from them after the passage of over two months.