Some of the exemptions are difficult to interpret. How will ambiguities be clarified and what can be done to support officials to apply exemptions properly?
(Last edited: Wednesday, 18 January 2023, 2:15 PM)
Answer:
It is important for the Government to prepare detailed guidance notes for PIOs and FAAs explaining each of the exemptions in section 8 and giving practical examples to assist them to apply these exemptions properly.State Government and Information Commission should also be involved in the process. Nevertheless, it is not possible to provide guidelines on exemptions applicable to all situations. It is important for Information Commissions and the Courts to publish their judgments to provide additional guidance to officials and the public which will become part of the developing case law on RTI. International experience supports the production of an 'annotated Act' incorporating the explanatory and interpretative portions of judgments explaining every provision. In Canada and Queensland, Australia for example, their information access case law is uploaded on-line and every provision therein has links to relevant judgments. The citizens can also refer the website of Kerala SIC, GoI and High Courts for similar cases, now that the Act has been in existence for more than 15 years.
