Now, you can ‘digest’ full bench RTI decisions Ashutosh Shukla

At last, there will be some quick, ready reference material relating to the orders of the Central Information Commission (CIC)for a group of RTI activists has taken it upon itself to bring out a digest on the full-bench CIC orders which has already gone to print. The book, Digest of Full Bench Decisions of Central Information Commission, which has nearly 51 full bench orders between 2007 and 2011, is due to be released by state chief information commissioner Ratnakar Gaikwad on June 26. In 2012, no full bench order was taken up for hearing. While the full-bench decisions by the CIC can always be looked up on its website (http://cic.gov.in), the book seeks to fill in the gaps by including value-added information like notes on every order. “These tell if the full-bench orders have been challenged in court as also their current status, so that a reader can gauge the order’s usefulness and the corresponding court rulings,” said co-author Narayan Varma, also trustee of the Public Concern for Governance Trust (PCGT), which along with Bombay Chartered Accountants Society (BACS) is publishing the book. Earlier, PCGT had come out with RTI-related books, but only on decisions of import and frequently asked questions. “Another highlight is that the reader can sift through the orders related to one particular section of the RTI Act as indexing and referencing has also been done as per sections,” said Varma. Apart from Varma, the book has been authored by advocate Anil Asher, Ambrose D’Cruz, a law student. “It is a precis of all the crucial orders, as we wanted to give the essence of the rulings, however, accompanied by important arguments,” said Asher. “Though legally important, the full-bench orders are not binding on other (state) commissions, but they do form a persuasive value when referred to by an applicant. To make things easier, we have also put up a gist of each case as part of an index,” said D’Cruz. SOurce:::: DNA, 26-06-2012, p.08 :: http://epaper.dnaindia.com/story.aspx?id=20728&boxid=12034&ed_date=2012-6-26&ed_code=820009&ed_page=8