তথ্য অধিকার আইন

The Daily Star, Sun May 15, 2022

Shamsul Bari and Ruhi Naz

Today, we turn away from the positive and encouraging side of the Right to Information movement in Bangladesh, depicted in our previous column (The Daily Star, April 16, 2022), to peer into the shadows.

Union Parishad Chairman threatens to beat up RTI applicant: The case stemmed from an RTI application submitted to the Designated Officer (DO) for RTI of a Union Parishad (UP) in Nawabganj Upazila, Dinajpur District, on February 6, 2022. Harunor Rashid, a local journalist, sought the following information: the number of Succession Certificates issued by the UP during the calendar year 2021; the amount of fees levied for their issuance; and the government account to which the money was deposited. While waiting for a response, the applicant happened to visit the UP office on some other business on February 17, 2022. The Secretary of the UP, who is also the DO, spotted Harunor and informed the Chairman. According to local media, the Chairman apparently lashed out at him for his audacity to ask for…Read More

The Daily Star, Saturday April 16, 2022

Shamsul Bari and Ruhi Naz

Today, we present tales that have been gathered from ordinary Bangladeshis. In the absence of a common source of information recording all the right to information (RTI) requests in Bangladesh, we reached out to those who help people submit such requests. These are some of the stories that are inspirational and motivating…Read More

The Daily Star, Tue March 15, 2022

Shamsul Bari and Ruhi Naz

The Information Commission of Bangladesh delivered a much-awaited decision on March 8, 2022, and a much-needed shot in the arm of the right to information (RTI) regime in Bangladesh. The commission displayed objectivity in applying a key aspect of the law—that which pertains to the government’s legitimate need to exclude some sensitive information from disclosure to the public.

The decision related to a complaint case dealt with by the Information Commission earlier in the year. It arose from an RTI request of a Bangladesh national to the police authority for some statistics on the application of the Digital Security Act (DSA). The police denied the request, arguing that disclosure of the requested information would obstruct enforcement of law, incite offence, endanger public security, impede judicial process, and affect investigation. Provisions of Section 7 of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, which provided for such exemptions to public authorities, were cited…Read More

The Daily Star, Tue Feb 15, 2022

Shamsul Bari and Ruhi Naz

The title of our column today is inspired by an editorial in Prothom Alo, a popular Bangla national daily in Bangladesh, published on February 5, 2022. Titled “Right to Information: Don’t send the law into a cold storage,” it raised concern about the use of exemption clauses in the RTI law by a public authority to deny information sought by a citizen.

It is reassuring that such an issue was raised by a widely read national daily, bringing into focus one of the most important laws of the land, which has largely been neglected both by the media and the civil society in general. Such neglect has contributed to the failure of the law to attract many users, despite its immense potential in monitoring government work. The reasons for such a failure are not far to seek. Users of the law often encounter many hurdles, as…Read More