Why are CID and BIEO outside ambit of RTI Act?

 STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The Assam Information Commission (AIC) wants that the CID (Criminal Investigation Department) and the BIEO (Bureau of Investigation of Economic Offenses) come under the ambit of the RTI (Right to Information) Act. The State Government has exempted these two organizations from the purview of the RTI Act. The Commission also wants the State Government to take action against the departments that fail to give information when sought.

The annual report (2021–2022) of the AIC recommends the deletion of the CID and the BIEO from the list of exempted organizations as notified by notification (PLA.384/2005/54 dated March 8, 2006). Through this notification, the State Government listed nine "intelligence and security" organizations, including the CID and the BIEO, exempting them from the purview of the RTI Act.

This exemption bars the public from seeking information related to the activities of these two organizations. The Commission, however, observes that "these two organizations in Assam have no link with 'intelligence and security'. For "intelligence and security" purposes, the Assam Police has a separate branch, the SB (Special Branch) which is already on the list of exempted organizations. Therefore, not exempting CID, which is not an intelligence or security organization, makes no sense.

The Commission also observes that some departments have failed to provide the information sought, while others provide it partially. According to the Commission, the Cultural Affairs Department, Revenue and Disaster Management, Transformation and Development, etc., have failed to submit their reports in relation to the public authorities under their jurisdiction as provided by Section 25(2) of the RTI Act, despite several reminders. Departments like Veterinary, P&RD, Forest, GAD, etc., have submitted partial reports. The Commission recommends suitable actions against the departments that have failed to comply with statutory provisions under Section 25(2) of the RTI Act.

The Commission said that the government should bring out an appropriate record/information manual to suit present-day requirements. "Record keeping by various public authorities under the State Government seems to be in a very poor state. Reports of missing, untraceable, or lost files and records are too common and frequent. "Maintenance of record rooms by the head of the office concerned and its periodic inspection by the First Appellate Authority concerned may be made mandatory."

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