Centre justifies keeping CBI, NIA etc out of RTI Act ambit

New Delhi, Aug 10: Terming the right to information as "not an absolute one", the Centre on Wednesday defended in the Delhi High Court its decision to keep key probe and intelligence agencies like CBI, NIA and NATGRID out of the transparency law ambit, asserting that it was "in larger public interest and in the interest of national security."

In a 16-page affidavit submitted to the bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Sanjiv Khanna, the Ministry of Personnel justified its decision to keep various investigating and intelligence agencies out of the Right to Information Act purview, citing the need to strike a balance between "transparency and the security and well-being of the nation."

"It is in the larger public interest and in the interest of the national security that CBI, NIA and NATGRID have been included in the second schedule to the act," the Centre said in its affidavit submitted to the court in reply to the court notice over a public interest plea, challenging the exclusion of CBI etc from the RTI Act ambit.

"The right to information is not an absolute right. There is a need to ensure the security of the nation, which should not be jeopardised due to disclosure of information under the transparency law," said the Centre.

"It may be stated that the RTI Act requires a balance to be maintained between transparency and security and well- being of the nation. The three organisations have been included in the second schedule to the Act for maintaining such a balance," it added.

PTI