Our Visit to RTI Commissioners office on 24th October 2008 When the highest upholders of the RTI Act decide not to comply with its norms, then the effectiveness of the three-year-old sunshine act comes into question.
The activists, including Krishnaraj Rao, Gaurang Vohra, Mohammed Afzal and Sundeep Jalan and myself, were prompted to conduct an inspection of the SIC files, after hearing the travails of Nagendra Pandey, a slumdweller from Shivajinagar, Malad (E). After a joint meeting between Mr Suresh Joshi and the 6 of us, Mr Joshi called me alone. What transpired, is as follows. Immediately on entering, I asked Mr Joshi, "How did you pass an order, which is absolutely absurd in my 2nd appeal, wherein the most Sr police officials were involved in talking on mobile to Rs 1000 Cr fraudster Mr Raj Basantani, who had fled from India to the US, was it not helping the corrupt ?". Mr Joshi tried to tell me "Many people use RTI to black mail". And I interrupted "Are you trying to say, I was attempting to blackmail, the Mumbai Police Commissioner, other Sr Police Commissioners, Ministers and Judges, who were on mobile with fraudster ?" .... "No No No please understand what I have to say" he pleaded. Mr Joshi then said "Many people get information about wrong doings by builders about their projects and then blackmail the builders, offcourse when they do wrongs, they deserve to be blackmailed. and I believe only 10-15% of the RTI appeals are like this" ... I wanted to get him back on track to my 2nd appeal absurd order, he had passed. Thrusting the order in his hand, I said "While hearing, on 8th and 10th April 2008, you asked them very intelligent questions and then delared, your Inquiry report is not a inquiry report but see what order you have passed, even this order I got after I filed a Criminal Writ Petition in the High Court, I have no income and no funds & you forced me to go to high court. Now please rectify this absurd order yourself, I do not want to approach the high court again". Mr Joshi went through the order, noting down the number and certain details, while I kept telling him "More details you will get from Writ Petition in the high court I had filed, copy of which you have". Thereafter I told Mr Joshi "In 2006, all RTI applications I made, reply was always received in 25-28 days but now whenever we file RTI, no one bothers to reply in less then 45-60 days, 1st appeal takes upto 90 days ( here I showed him reply to my recent 1st appeal ). WHY because earlier they were afraid of the RTI Act, now they are aware Mr Suresh Joshi is there to take care of us, we will not be penalised. Mr joshi it is you, who have allowed RTI act to flounder in Maharashtra". Mr Joshi ended the meeting, stating I would like to call you for further discussion. And my last words were "Please go through the appeal and the order you have passed, maybe you will realise you have made a mistake, PLEASE AMEND THE ORDER, I do not wish to file a petition in the high court, I have no money". ( Also at one time during the 15 minutes I spent wirh him alone, Mr Suresh Joshi told me, RTI is made for the poor, so I informed him, no one is more qualified on that account than me, as I have had nil income for about 5 years now and it was my son's earning that are being utilised to file RTI applications and keep the NGO running ... Also I handed over the leaflet of my NGO PLEAD and asked Mr Suresh Joshi to join in, by filling the simple enrollment form ) Read full report from Times & DNA at http://www.RoguePolice.com/6rti.htm <http://www.roguepolice.com/6rti.htm> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
