Madras HC issues notice to govt on exemption of CBI from RTI

Chennai, Jun 24: The Madras High Court has issued a notice to the government on the blanket exemption to India's premier investigative agency, the CBI from the Right to Information (RTI) Act's ambit. The High Court has given the government a time of three weeks to reply to the notice.

Leading to more teeth to the LokPal's civil society group stand for a more transparent governance, the recent HC notice will act as a welcome break. There was widespread anger over the government's decision to exclude the CBI from falling under the ambit of the RTI, even if a petition is filed for seeking information. Popular anti-corruption crusader and a vocal member of Anna Hazare's team has welcomed the decision.

The government had recently made a Cabinet-level decision to exclude the CBI from the RTIs purview with the CBI too backing the decision saying that they "hold the investigations of several politically sensitive cases which have inter-state and international ramification."

OneIndia News