Latest news with #RighttoInformation
Indian Express
5 hours ago
- Business
- Indian Express
Govt notifies new Jammu Railway Division
The new Railway Division, headquartered at Jammu Tawi and operating under the Northern Railway, has come into effect from June 1. It is the 70th division of Indian Railways. The new division will oversee a substantial area, primarily comprising sections transferred from the Firozpur Division, which is as old as the Indian Railways. PM Narendra Modi inaugurated the Jammu Railway Division on January 6, 2025. According to the gazette notification published May 29, key sections now under the new division include Pathankot–Jammu– Martyr Captain Tushar Mahajan –Srinagar–Baramulla (423 km), Bhogpur Sirwal–Pathankot (87 km), Batala–Pathankot (68 km) and Pathankot–Joginder Nagar narrow gauge section (164 km). Jammu Division's first DRM Vivek Kumar said the formation of the division is important not only for connectivity with Kashmir, but also for defence purposes as the area is strategically cordoned. Dheeraj Mishra is a Principal correspondent with The Indian Express, Business Bureau. He covers India's two key ministries- Ministry of Railways and Ministry of Road Transport & Highways. He frequently uses the Right to Information (RTI) Act for his stories, which have resulted in many impactful reports. ... Read More
Time of India
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
PSIC issues show cause notice to Mohali director public instructions for RTI information denial
1 2 3 Mohali: The Punjab State Information Commission (PSIC) has issued a show cause notice to the public information officer (PIO) of the director public instructions (secondary education), Mohali, for failing to furnish information sought under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. Following a complaint by Sukhchain Singh, a resident of Fatehgarh Churian, Batala, the commission, invoking Section 20(1) of the RTI Act, has asked the PIO to explain in writing why a penalty should not be imposed for the alleged willful delay or denial of information. The officer has been directed to submit a detailed reply before the next date of hearing. During the proceedings, the commission expressed strong displeasure at what it termed as "complete negligence and laxity" on the part of the public authority in handling the RTI request. The commission noted that the continued failure to respond to such matters reflected not only inefficiency but also a disregard for the RTI Act itself. "The casual and callous approach adopted by the respondent is against the spirit of the RTI Act," the commission observed, adding that the law was enacted to promote transparency and ensure effective access to information. "Such behaviour by a government servant must be condemned," it said, emphasising that exemplary action is necessary to send a clear message to other public officials about their obligations under the Act. The PSIC's stern remarks underlined the need for accountability in governance and warned that non-compliance with the RTI framework undermines public trust in administrative institutions.
The Hindu
2 days ago
- Business
- The Hindu
Delhi HC seeks Centre's reply on plea alleging unlawful data access in Patent Office
The Delhi High Court on Friday (May 30, 2025) directed the Centre to file its response to a plea by the All India Patent Officers' Welfare Association (AIPOWA), which seeks a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into alleged unlawful access of sensitive unpublished data in the country's patent and trademark offices by a private multinational company. 'What's going on in the Patent Office?' remarked Justice Sachin Datta at the outset of the hearing. The court noted that the plea raised a 'valid allegation' but suggested the matter could be pursued as a public interest litigation (PIL). However, counsel for the petitioners, advocate Gyanant Kumar Singh, clarified that the association members were serving officers in the same office and, therefore, could not declare that they had no personal interest in the matter — an essential requirement for filing a PIL. Taking the matter on record, the court observed in its order, 'It is alleged that a private multinational company has been given unbridled access to sensitive data without requisite checks and balance. Petitioner[s] seek that an appropriate investigation be conducted in the matter. Let a reply be filed.' The matter has been posted for further hearing on August 29. In its petition, AIPOWA has sought a probe into how sensitive, unpublished information related to pending patent and trademark applications was allegedly accessed by representatives of Kaizen International, a private multinational firm, without proper authorisation. The plea claimed that Kaizen is a multinational company with clients in various industries and fields 'where trade secrets and innovations are coveted assets.' It cautioned that access to data in patent and trademark offices by Kaizen 'may have compromised the functioning of Intellectual Property offices, requiring investigation and measures to tackle the fallouts.' The Association represents Group-A patent officers who perform quasi-judicial functions relating to the grant of patents. The Association said the office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks (CGPDTM) initially denied, under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, the existence of any document with regard to work being executed by Kaizen. It was only after a Capacity Building Commission (CBC) report referred to Kaizen's role that the CGPDTM furnished a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) dated March 6, 2023. The MoU—signed by the CGPDTM, CBC, and the Centre for Effective Governance of Indian States (CEGIS) Foundation—mentioned coordination with the Kaizen team for 'process improvement.' The plea stated that while Kaizen International was not a party to the MoU, the agreement 'opened doors for it without any tendering process by stating,' adding that the MoU was signed by Controller General Unnat P. Pandit as the head of the CGPDTM without the requisite approval of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
India Gazette
3 days ago
- India Gazette
Lucknow: FIR registered against Joint Commissioner Yogendra Mishra after fight with fellow IRS Officer
Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], May 30 (ANI): A police case was registered against Joint Commissioner of Income Tax Yogendra Mishra after a physical fight broke out between two Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officers in Lucknow on Thursday. The officials said the incident took place following an argument about an RTI (Right to Information) matter. The complaint was filed by Deputy Commissioner Gaurav Garg, who is also an IRS officer and the husband of IPS officer Raveena Tyagi. Based on his complaint, an FIR was registered at the Hazratganj police station. According to officials, the confrontation between the two officers escalated into a physical altercation, drawing attention within administrative circles. The fight took place during a heated exchange over the handling of an RTI issue. 'An FIR has been registered under relevant sections based on the complaint by IRS officer Gaurav Garg,' police said. Officials said that the matter is now being investigated and statements from witnesses and both officers will be recorded. Further details on the matter were still awaited. On May 28, wanted criminal Bhupendra Gwalah got injured in an encounter with Jhansi Police. He was shot at by police in an attempt to capture him. Superintendent of Police (SP) of Rural Jhansi, Arvind Kumar, said, 'He (criminal) was spotted on a motorcycle when the Moth police were conducting a check. As he saw the police, he fired at the police and ran towards the jungle.' The SP added that on investigation, the police got to know that Gwalah is a wanted criminal and there is also a case of theft against him at the Moth police station.'The encounter was conducted by the SSP, Moth station and SWAT,' SP Arvind Kumar told the police have recovered the stolen battery, a suspicious motorcycle without a number plate and a pistol along with cartridges from him. SP Kumar informed the media that the criminal had a Rs 25,000 award against him. He added, 'The interrogation and investigation of cases against him are going on.' On May 27, in a similar case in Uttar Pradesh, a wanted criminal involved in multiple cow slaughter cases was injured in a police encounter during a late-night checking operation in Uttar Pradesh's Amroha district, while another suspect managed to escape. (ANI)
Hindustan Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Amid Shashi Tharoor row, Congress claims 6 surgical strikes under UPA; BJP hits back
Amid a major controversy over Shashi Tharoor's statements on surgical strikes, the Congress on Thursday reiterated its claim that six such military operations were carried out during the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) regime. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), however, moved quickly to debunk what it called a 'lie'. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor had invited massive criticism from within his party over his statement that India conducted its first surgical strike in response to a terror attack in 2016. Senior Congress leader and party general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewal, though, backed the 'seasoned and experienced' Tharoor, he also insisted that the leader was wrong about the surgical strikes. "Congress party only corrected (him) by pointing out that surgical strikes against Pakistan and other dens of terrorists were a regular feature even during the UPA term – to give a befitting reply to terrorists by our armed forces and the Congress governments," Surjewala said. Sharing a video on X, the Congress wrote, "No Noida. No PR. Only Decisive Actions. 6 Surgical Strikes were carried out under Congress Govt." The BJP did not hold back, criticising the grand-old party for being "corrupt", even when national security is concerned. Citing a Right to Information (RTI) query dated April 2018, the BJP wrote, "There were no surgical strikes under UPA as confirmed by the DGMO in response to an RTI query". "Darpok (fearful) Congress must STOP LYING," the saffron party said in a post on X. Back in December 2018, the then Congress president Rahul Gandhi had asserted that the Indian Army conducted three surgical strikes in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) when the UPA government was in power, HT reported. Similar to Randeep Surjewala's claimed list of surgical strikes from June 2018, the Congress has now listed these six military operations carried out under its UPA government. According to the party's X post, strikes were carried out in Poonch's Bhattal sector on June 19, 2008, and in the Sharda Sector across Neelam River Valley in Kel in 2011 between August 31 and September 1. A strike was reportedly carried out on Sawan Patra Checkpost on January 6, 2013. Between July 27 and 28, 2013, another 'surgical strike' struck the Nazapir sector. Lastly, two more strikes were carried out in Neelam Ghati on August 6, 2013, and January 14, 2014. In May 2019, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also claimed that his government had conducted "multiple surgical strikes" while in power, but did not believe in using them for "vote gathering". The army's northern command chief, Lt General Ranbir Singh, at the time, said the September 2016 surgical strike on terrorist launchpads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) was the first such operation to be carried out, HT had earlier reported. Singh had also cited a reply from the directorate general of military operations (DGMO) under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. The DGMO's reply to the RTI said the army had no data to suggest that any surgical strikes were conducted across the de-facto India-Pakistan border in Jammu and Kashmir, the Line of Control (LoC), before September 2016. This was the first time that a senior officer had spoken on record about whether the September 2016 strike was the army's first such targeted operation. Singh was heading the Directorate of Military Operations (DGMO) when the September 2016 strikes were carried out in response to an attack on an Indian Army's camp in Jammu and Kashmir's Uri that claimed the lives of 19 soldiers.
