তথ্য অধিকার আইন

The Daily Star, Saturday, April 15, 2023

Shamsul Bari and Ruhi Naz

Citizens’ right to monitor, probe and question the work of their governments is essential for democracy. The use of this right varies among countries which have adopted a Right to Information (RTI) or Freedom of Information (FOI) Act – tools to facilitate the process. The path from government secrecy to openness is long, winding and rocky, even in countries where the right to information is well-entrenched. In a country such as ours – where the law is relatively new – we still have far to go before the right is seen not merely as “window dressing” to bolster our democratic credentials but becomes a true tool to hold our public authorities to account.

The three key parties in this process are citizens, their public authorities and the arbiters of any disputes between the first two. The first have the right to demand information; the second have the responsibility to respond. The third are members of the Information Commission (IC), composed mainly of former bureaucrats. Both the second and third pillars of this tool can be too hesitant in carrying out their duties, uncertain about the extent of government sincerity in opening itself up to public scrutiny.Read More

The Daily Star, Tuesday Mar 14, 2023

Shamsul Bari and Ruhi Naz

In recent years, our neighbour Sri Lanka has weathered difficult times – economically, politically, and socially – but its right to information (RTI) regime survived and even thrived. We have cited critical RTI decisions from the country in these columns in the past. We are pleased to now update this with a story of exemplary value. This case shows the vast potential of RTI law to promote transparency in an important branch of democracy – the parliament.

RTI requests that are initially denied by the authorities concerned usually get resolved through the intervention of the Information Commission or a similar dispute-resolving body. However, if a party feels aggrieved by a decision of the Information Commission, it may appeal to a higher court for a ruling on the contested issues. In our story, a decision of the Right to Information Commission of Sri Lanka was challenged at the Court of Appeal, which delivered its judgment just a few weeks ago on February 28.Read More

The Daily Star, Wednesday February 15, 2023

Shamsul Bari and Ruhi Naz

The first case was brought to our attention by RTI activists promoting the law at the grassroots level in Bangladesh.

One of the reasons we write this column is to show our readers how people here and abroad make use of Right to Information (RTI) legislation. Today, we look at two examples each from Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. All four demonstrate the vast range of ways in which RTI can push for government transparency and accountability. The Sri Lankan examples show the use of the law at the state level, while the Bangladeshi examples show its use at the lowest level of administration.

A group of RTI activists in Sri Lanka asked the highest-level police authorities for information on detainees on remand under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. The activists wanted to know how many detainees were held, the condition of their mental and physical health, and how many were released without any charges. This application for information was refused. In October 2022, the Sri Lankan Information Commission directed the police to provide the information. Read More

Ruhi Naz, Shamsul Bari, January  14, 2023

“Why do you people work on promoting RTI (Right to Information) when there are so many important tasks to do, like working with health issues, water and sanitation programmes, and so on? RTI is a high-thought activity to be undertaken by intellectuals. What would a marginalised person do by knowing this law?”

These angry questions were directed to an RTI worker by the deputy commissioner of a northern district of Bangladesh.

Another senior official once asked an RTI applicant: “What are you going to do with the information? Why do you want it? Who motivated you to show such a daring attitude? You are going to be in deep trouble if you keep seeking information from government officers.” Read More…