-: [rti4empowerment] UP RTI activists demonstrate with chair in solidarity with protests across the nation over harassment of RTI users by Information Commissioners

Please download pics of the event by clicking under-given web-link
http://tahririndia.blogspot.in/2015/01/l-ll.html

1- सूचना आयुक्तों होश में आओ, होश में आओ, होश में आओ l
हमारी 'कुर्सी' हमें दिलाओ, हमें दिलाओ, हमें दिलाओ ll

2- नौकर बैठे मालिक देखे, नहीं चलेगा नहीं चलेगा l

3- बंद करो यह अत्याचार, 'कुर्सी' की है अब दरकार l

Lucknow. 11/01/2015. यह बानगी है उन नारों की जो यूपी की
राजधानी लखनऊ में लगाते हुए आरटीआई कार्यकर्ताओं ने सूचना आयोगों में
सुनवाई के दौरान सूचनार्थियों को कुर्सी पर बैठाना सुनिश्चित कराने की
मांग समेत अन्य मांगों के लिए 'कुर्सी के साथ'हुंकार भरी l

तमिलनाडु में एक आरटीआई कार्यकर्ता के द्वारा कुर्सी मांगने पर सूचना
आयुक्तों द्वारा आरटीआई कार्यकर्ता को जेल भेजने के मामले से आक्रोशित
उत्तर प्रदेश के आरटीआई कार्यकर्ताओं ने आज लखनऊ के हज़रतगंज जीपीओ के
निकट महात्मा गांधी पार्क में 'कुर्सी' के साथ' धरना देकर देश भर के
सूचना आयोगों समेत सभी न्यायिक और अर्द्ध-न्यायिक प्रतिष्ठानों की
सुनवाइयों में सभी पक्षों को कुर्सी पर बैठाकर सुनवाई करने की मांग के
साथ देश के राष्ट्रपति, राष्ट्रीय मानवाधिकार आयोग के अध्यक्ष और देश
के सभी प्रदेशों के राज्यपालों को 11 सूत्रीय मांगो से सम्बंधित एक
ज्ञापन प्रेषित किया l

धरने में समाजसेवी नवीन तिवारी,उर्वशी शर्मा,संजय शर्मा,देवीदत्त
पाण्डेय,अशोक कुमार गोयल,हयात कादरी,राम स्वरुप यादव,सूरज प्रसाद,केदार
नाथ सैनी,ज्ञानेश पाण्डेय,होमेन्द्र कुमार,मीना पाण्डेय, तुलसी बल्लभ
गुप्ता,रोहित कुमार और अनामिका पोरवाल ने देश के आरटीआई एक्टिविस्टों
के मानवाधिकारों के संरक्षण के पक्ष में अपनी आवाज बुलंद की l

मानवाधिकार संरक्षण के क्षेत्र में कार्यरत सामाजिक संगठन 'तहरीर' के
संस्थापक संजय शर्मा ने बताया कि सूचना आयुक्तों द्वारा की जा रही
सुनवाइयों में सूचना मांगने बालों को खड़ा रहने को वाध्य करना सूचना
मांगने बालों के मानवाधिकारों का हनन है l सूचना आयुक्तों को सामंतवादी
मानसिकता का शिकार बताते हुए संजय ने कहा कि चाटुकारिता के चलते उच्च पद
पा गए सूचना आयुक्त शायद यह भूल रहे हैं कि देश में लोकशाही है जिसमे
जनता राजा है और सूचना आयुक्त जनता के सेवक मात्र हैं l

कार्यकर्ताओं ने धरने में लोकतंत्र समर्थक नारे लगाते हुए सूचना आयुक्तों
के विरुद्ध लंबित शिकायतों का निपटारा तीन माह में करने, सूचना आयुक्तों
के पद-ग्रहण से पूर्व उनको आरटीआई एक्ट और मानवाधिकारों सम्बन्धी
प्रशिक्षण अनिवार्य करने, सूचना मांगने बालों के खिलाफ शिकायत आने पर
उनके लंबित आरटीआई प्रकरणों को भी जांचों में शामिल करने समेत 11सूत्रीय
मांगो से सम्बंधित एक ज्ञापन राष्ट्रपति, राष्ट्रीय मानवाधिकार आयोग के
अध्यक्ष और देश के सभी प्रदेशों के राज्यपालों को प्रेषित किया l धरने
की समन्वयक संस्था द्वारा एक ज्ञापन राज्यपाल कार्यालय में प्राप्त भी
कराया गया l

संजय ने बताया कि वे देश के सभी प्रदेशों के आरटीआई और मानवाधिकार
कार्यकर्ताओं के संपर्क में हैं और यदि 3 माह में उनकी मांगें नहीं मानी
गयीं तो इस सम्बन्ध में शीघ्र ही देशव्यापी आंदोलन चलाया जायेगा l

धरने के बाद धरने की समन्वयक संस्था द्वारा एक ज्ञापन राज्यपाल कार्यालय
में प्राप्त कराया गया जिसकी स्कैन्ड कॉपी भी अपलोड की जा रही है l धरने
के कुछ फोटो भी अपलोड किये जा रहे हैं l

राष्ट्रपति, राष्ट्रीय मानवाधिकार आयोग के अध्यक्ष और देश के सभी
प्रदेशों के राज्यपालों को प्रेषित किया जाने बाला ज्ञापन निम्नानुसार
है :
Letter No. : TAHRIR/2014-15/150111-32
Date : 11-01-2015
To,
1) The President of India,Rashtrapati Bhavan,New Delhi - 110 004
,Phone: 011 23015321
2) The Chairman,National Human Rights Commission,ManavAdhikarBhawan,
Block-C, GPO Complex, INA,New Delhi – 110 023
3) Governor of Andhra Pradesh , Raj Bhawan, Raj Bhawan Road,
Hyderabad,500041 governor@ap.nic.in

4) Governor of Arunachal Pradesh Governor Secretariat
5) Governor of Assam, Raj Bhawan, Kharguli,Guwahati,781004
6) Governor of Bihar, Governor House, B. G. Camp,Patna,800022
governorbihar@nic.in
7) Governor of Chhattisgarh, Raj Bhawan,Raipur
8) Governor of Goa, Raj Niwas, Dona Paula,404004 governor@rajbhavangoa.org
9) Governor of Gujarat, Raj Bhavan ,Gandhinagar,382020
10) Governor of Haryana, Haryana Raj Bhawan,Chandigarh
11) Governor of Himachal Pradesh, Barnes Court, Raj Bhawan,Shimla,171002
12) Governor of Jammu And Kashmir, Raj Bhawan Srinagar,Kashmir,180001
nnvohra@nic.in
13) Governor of Jharkhand, Raj Bhawan, Kanke Road,Ranchi
14) Governor of Karnataka, Raj Bhavan,Banglore,560001
rajbhavan.karnataka@gmail.com
15) Governor of Kerala, keralagovernor@gmail.com
16) Raj Bhawan,Thiruvaanantpuram,695099
17) Governor of Madhya Pradesh, Raj Bhavan,Bhopal
18) Governor of Maharashtra, Raj Bhawan, Malabar Hill Mumbai,400035
rajbhavan@maharashtra.gov.in
19) Governor of Manipur, Raj Bhawan Imphal,795001
20) Governor of Meghalaya, Raj Bhawan,Shilong,793001
21) Governor of Mizoram, Raj Bhawan, Aizawl,Aizawl,796001
22) Governor of Odisha, Governor's House,Bhubanesewar govodisha@nic.in
23) Governor of Nagaland, Raj Bhawan,Kohima
24) Governor of Punjab, Punjab Raj Bhawan/6, Chandigarh
25) Governor of Rajasthan, Raj Bhawan, Civil Lines,Jaipur,302005
26) Governor of Sikkim, Raj Bhawan,Gangtok,737103 governor-skm@nic.in
27) Governor of Tamil Nadu, Raj Bhawan,Chennai,600022
28) Governor of Telangana, Raj Bhawan, Raj Bhawan Road,Hyderabad,500041
29) Governor of Tripura, Raj Bhawan (Pushbanta Palace),Agartala,799066
30) Governor of Uttar Pradesh, Raj Bhawan (Governor
House)Lucknow,226027 hgovup@gov.in
31) Governor of West Bengal, Raj Bhawan,Kolkata,700062
32) Governor of Uttarakhand, Rajbhawan,Dehradun,248003
33)

34)

Sir/Madam,
TAHRIR ( Transparency, Accountability & Human Rights initiative for
revolution ) is a Bareilly/Lucknow based Social Organization, working
at grass-root level by taking up & solving issues related to
strengthening transparency & accountability in public life and
protection of Human Rights in India.

We are now writing to express our grave concern over incidents of
misbehavior with RTI users at the hands of Information commissioners
in various information commissions of India. A RTI users is a Human
Right Defenders ( HRDs).In all the cases of violations of human rights
of RTI users in the premises of Info-commissions, the information
commissioners are the Perpetrators. The Paris Principles are also not
followed in all matters relating to the CIC & SICs in the country when
they are actually Human Rights Institutions [HRIs] also and need to
adhere by the Paris Principles.

We are shocked by recent arrest of RTI activist Siva Elango in
Tamilnadu. Activists across the country have their experiences of
inhumane behavior by info-commissioners. UPSIC has long been harassing
RTI applicants and we have no hesitation to say that the
info-commissioners, who were perceived as the custodian of RTI act
have now started strangling the RTI Act. Like many other
info-commissions, UPSIC too has neglected the basic right of
activists to sit during a hearing. Previously IC Arvind Singh Bisht
sent Senior Citizen RTI activist Ashok Kumar Goyal to jail and very
recently same IC misbehaved with another Senior Citizen RTI activist
named Mahendra Agarwal. Activists in Uttar Pradesh are now scared to
appear in appeal proceedings in commissions as they may lodge cases
against them.

We feel that today the only jobs these commissions are performing are
to reject RTI applications and demoralize RTI applicants by harassing
them as the commissions allow government officials to sit during the
hearings, but they insist RTI applicants to stand till the proceedings
ends to demoralize them. The commissions are going easy on public
information officers (PIOs) who delay and deny information. Though the
commissions should impose a penalty of up to Rs 25,000 on a PIO for
failing to furnish information within 30 days and for deliberately
providing incorrect, incomplete and misleading information but they
are seldom doing it.No words can be strong enough to deprecate the
practice of making the parties to the proceedings stand like beggars,
especially when In Namit Sharma Case, the Apex Court has ruled that
Information Commissions are NOT judicial or quasi-judicial bodies.
There is lack of understanding of RTI Act by Info-commissions. Though
Sec 18 [3] gives Info-commissioners the status equal to a District
Judge who could exercise powers under Code of Civil Procedure 1908
[Order XVI] [Summoning & Attendance of Witnesses] but
info-commissioners had only power of a District Judge but they are not
a "Judge". So they have to exercise their authority / power through
authorities [Administration/Police]. Job of Information Commissioners
is only to ensure the petitioners get Information within time-frame
and nothing else.

We, therefore urge you to immediately take necessary steps to ensure that :
All judicial, quasi-judicial bodies and all commissions in the country
should offer a chair during proceedings.

i. All pending complaints of misbehavior/ misconduct and abuse of
authority against Information Commissioners be disposed-off on merits
within 3 months and all Info-commissioner, proved guilty be
immediately dismissed.
ii. All the appointments at info-commissions across the country be
made in a transparent manner while ensuring that persons of real
eminence, intact integrity and of Humane mindset are sent there for
working.
iii. All cases of harassment of RTI users, reported till now, be
probed immediately thorough transparent, effective and impartial
investigation.
iv. Rights of RTI activists who are also human rights defenders be
upheld including their right to associate, assembly, peacefully
protest, criticize and free expression – all of which have generally
been denied in all the cases reported so far.
v. Before registering the cases of the allegations against RTI users,
motive between the RTI user & the Information Commission and record of
pending applications of RTI user at info-commission be first taken
into account.
vi. All annual reports of the Info-commissions are made ready and
produced before the Parliament/ State Legislatures.
vii. Training on provisions of RTI act be mandatorily provided by
DoPT GOI New Delhi & State governments to all info-commissioners
before their taking the charge.
viii. NHRC & SHRCs are made to mandatorily undertake a special
training sessions for all Chairpersons and Members of all the CIC &
State Information Commissions.
ix. That the Judicial Academies be made to undertake a special
training on the rights of human rights defenders to all members of the
police & judiciary and to ensure that all police officers & judicial
officers are made to adhere strictly the law of arrest and judicial
remand as directed by the Criminal Procedure Code and the judgements
of the Hon'ble SC.
x. Local district officials puts an end to all acts of harassment
against all RTI Activists and all human rights defenders in general to
ensure that in all circumstances they carry out their activities
without any hindrances.
xi. Conform with the provisions of the UN Declaration on Human Rights
Defenders, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on
December 9, 1998, especially Article 1, which states that "everyone
has the right, individually and in association with others, to promote
and to strive for the protection and realization of human rights and
fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels",Article
12.2, which provides that ""the State shall take all necessary
measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of
everyone, individually and in association with others, against any
violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse
discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a
consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred
to in the present Declaration" and More generally, ensure in all
circumstances the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in
accordance with in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights and with international human rights instruments ratified by
India is strictly adhered to in India .

Looking forward to your immediate action in this regard,

Sincerely yours,

Sanjay Sharma سنجے شرما संजय शर्मा
( Founder & Chairman)
Transparency, Accountability & Human Rights Initiative for Revolution
( TAHRIR )
101,Narain Tower,F Block, Rajajipuram
Lucknow,Uttar Pradesh-226017
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/sanjay.sharma.tahrir
Website :http://tahririndia.blogspot.in/
E-mail : tahririndia@gmail.com
Twitter Handle : @tahririndia
Mobile : 9369613513