Orissa High Court directs to bring state Vigilance under the purview of RTI Act
Orissa High Court directs to bring state Vigilance under the purview of RTI Act
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Cuttack: On Monday, the Orissa High Court ordered that the Odisha Vigilance be placed under the Right To Information (RTI) Act.
Except for sensitive and confidential actions carried out by the department, the state Vigilance, according to the HC, should be included under the RTI umbrella.
The Supreme Court was hearing petitions contesting a 2016 judgement exempting the state Vigilance from RTI.
"Under RTI, Vigilance is not required to divulge information about sensitive and confidential actions. The government, on the other hand, cannot dismiss information on the Vigilance Department, including charges of corruption and human rights violations, according to the HC.
"Notwithstanding the challenged notification dated 11th August 2016, the General Administration (Vigilance) Department of the Government of Odisha cannot refuse to release information relevant to corruption and human rights breaches," it ruled.
