On 12 September 2003, industrialist Shailesh Gandhi made this simple plea under the Maharashtra Right to Information Act (2003): ‘‘The number of transfers of police personnel effected in the last two years on orders or requests by MLAS, MPs and ministers.’’
It’s one of many things police officers and politicians snicker at: Political interference clearly violates Rule 413 of the Police Manual. But really, so what? Politicians decide postings—indeed as former police chief Julio Ribeiro often writes, many posts are ‘‘sold’’ to the highest bidder.
A year on, Gandhi’s battle for transparency in how this key institution functions has culminated in a significant success: Two circulars were issued by DCP Rajnish Sethi on 3rd and 8th September 2004 that ‘‘any violation of Rule 413 will be strictly dealt with’’.
And while Gandhi was given no names, the DCP informed him on 10 September that 71 officers and 64 constables were ‘‘warned for trying to bring pressure for their transfers and entries have been made in their service books’’.
It’s a start. And Gandhi credits it to the Maharashtra Right To Information (RTI) Act, the two-year-old legislation that is supposed to cast the sunshine of openness on an opaque bureaucracy.
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DON’T GIVE UP
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| • Acquaint
yourself with the Maharashtra Right To Information Act •
Talk to organisations/individuals who have used it •
Persist with appeals when denied information, knock on the doors of
the Lokayukta or the State Monitoring Council for redressal |
The law’s potency is clear. At the start of Gandhi’s struggle last year, his pleas for information were casually dismissed. ‘‘Application of 413 is not a binding rule,’’ he was told.
‘‘They meant that outside interference in police postings, though a violation, had become part of the system,’’ reasons Gandhi. ‘‘My reaction was to ask for a copy of the order that made 413 discretionary .’’
Indeed, the defining feature of Gandhi’s RTI success is month upon month of doggedness: 9 appeals and 11 personal hearings, battling delays and navigating obfuscation by the Mumbai police.
‘‘At one point, they even tried to get rid of me by claiming that all such records have been destroyed’’ reflects Gandhi. ‘‘The key is to keep hammering.’’
The DCP’s recent order was vindicated by the complimentary calls that Gandhi has received from some police officers.
Gandhi—who has other RTI tussles pending with the BMC and the police— stresses that government officials accustomed to opaque working have to be prodded into abandoning their decades-old contempt for the public.
‘‘That will happen only if more citizens begin using the act. And each RTI success means that a subsequent applicant will have things comparatively easier.’’
So, what are you waiting for?
VISION IMPAIRED
* Acquaint yourself with the Maharashtra Right To Information Act
* Talk to organisations/individuals who have used it
* Persist with appeals when denied information, knock on the doors of the Lokayukta or the State Monitoring Council for redressal
chitrangada@expressindia.com