Raising concern about the possible infringement of personal privacy
while providing information under the Right to Information Act, prime minister Manmohan Singh said a fine
balance should be maintained between the Right to Information and the Right to Privacy, which stems
out of the Fundamental Right to Life and Liberty.
"The citizens' right to know should definitely be circumscribed if disclosure of information encroaches upon someone's personal privacy. The issue of a separate legislation on privacy is under consideration of an expert group under Justice AP Shah," he said while addressing a convention of Information Commissioners.
He said that the Right to Information is still evolving and there have been concerns over the frivolous and vexatious use of the Act in demanding information the disclosure of which cannot possibly serve any public purpose.
"Such queries besides serving little productive social purpose are also a drain on the resources of the public authorities, diverting precious man-hours," he said.
The prime minister said that there is a need to ascertain the extent of information to be shared by entities involved in the public-private partnership.
"Blanket extension of the Act to such bodies may discourage private enterprises to enter into partnerships with the public sector entity. A blanket exclusion on the other hand may harm the cause of accountability of public officials," he said.
Referring to the recent Supreme Court order on appointment of retired apex court judges and high court chief justices as heads of Central Information Commission (CIC) and state information commissions (SICs), the prime minister said that the government has decided to go in review before the apex court.
Emphasising the need to for a more efficient Right to Information system more efficient, he said that the endeavour should be to minimise the costs associated with providing access to information.
"Better training of employees, greater use of modern technology and proactive disclosure of the maximum possible amount of information are obvious solutions, not only for minimising costs but also for making it easier for people to access information," he said.
Highlighting the success of the Right to Information, the prime minister said that close to 10 lakh people sought information under this legislation last year.
"The citizens' right to know should definitely be circumscribed if disclosure of information encroaches upon someone's personal privacy. The issue of a separate legislation on privacy is under consideration of an expert group under Justice AP Shah," he said while addressing a convention of Information Commissioners.
He said that the Right to Information is still evolving and there have been concerns over the frivolous and vexatious use of the Act in demanding information the disclosure of which cannot possibly serve any public purpose.
"Such queries besides serving little productive social purpose are also a drain on the resources of the public authorities, diverting precious man-hours," he said.
The prime minister said that there is a need to ascertain the extent of information to be shared by entities involved in the public-private partnership.
"Blanket extension of the Act to such bodies may discourage private enterprises to enter into partnerships with the public sector entity. A blanket exclusion on the other hand may harm the cause of accountability of public officials," he said.
Referring to the recent Supreme Court order on appointment of retired apex court judges and high court chief justices as heads of Central Information Commission (CIC) and state information commissions (SICs), the prime minister said that the government has decided to go in review before the apex court.
Emphasising the need to for a more efficient Right to Information system more efficient, he said that the endeavour should be to minimise the costs associated with providing access to information.
"Better training of employees, greater use of modern technology and proactive disclosure of the maximum possible amount of information are obvious solutions, not only for minimising costs but also for making it easier for people to access information," he said.
Highlighting the success of the Right to Information, the prime minister said that close to 10 lakh people sought information under this legislation last year.
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