dna impact: Demand to bring CBI under RTI resurfaces

Following the row over CBI chief Ranjit Sinha allegedly meeting representatives of companies facing probes by the agency, the demand to bring the premier investigation agency under the ambit of the Right To Information (RTI) Act has resurfaced. At present, it is under the exempted category after a circular in 2011 took it out of RTI reach.

"The department of personnel and training, which came out with the circular exempting CBI from RTI, did not give any reason for doing so. When an order was passed that they provide information, the CBI moved the court and obtained a stay. The court too has not given any reason why the stay had been granted," rued Shailesh Gandhi, former central information commissioner (CIC).

It was Gandhi, who through an order, had asked the organisation to provide information on the ground that CBI was not an intelligence or security agency to be considered for exemption.
"All across they have been called just an investigative agency. They were obviously exempted from RTI because a number of scams came tumbling out and the government did not want people to get information under the RTI," said Gandhi.

Ranjit Sinha, the CBI director, has already raised questions about the authenticity of the contents of the 'diary'. His contention has been that CBI is outside RTI, so those possessing it (diary) could not have procured it through RTI. "In fact, the section that was cited to keep it out of RTI ambit very clearly states that intelligence or security agencies are exempted. The SC has given too much time to a powerful man to prove that the allegations against him are wrong. It's time CBI is brought under RTI," said Gandhi.