Centre defends exemption to CBI and NIA from RTI

KOCHI: The decision to exempt the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the National Investigation Agency (NIA) from the purview of the RTI Act was made considering the larger interest of national security, the Union Government submitted before the Kerala High Court on Monday.Personnel and Training Department joint secretary K G Verma submitted the affidavit on a petition challenging the notification issued by the Centre on June 6 notifying the inclusion of CBI and NIA in the second schedule to RTI Act, 2005.The Centre also submitted that the exemption under section-24 has been granted after receiving representations from the CBI and the NIA stating the difficulties being faced by them owing to the increased number of queries under the RTI Act.Verma further stated that many of the cases handled by the agencies were sensitive in nature and intelligence plays a vital role in every aspect of its functioning.The Naval war-room leak, Barak anti-missile defence system case, Bombay blast cases of 1993, Rajiv Gandhi assassination case and the Assam bomb blast case are some of the most sensitive cases pertaining to national security investigated by CBI.“Disclosures under  the RTI may lead to targeting of officers which may ultimately affect the credibility of CBI and NIA, which would not be in national interest,” the affidavit states.The functions of CBI and NIA involve intelligence collection similar to the Intelligence Bureau and other intelligence organisations.The Centre further stated that the functions of CBI and NIA are always under intense scrutiny of the judiciary, which ensures greater amount of transparency.The petitioner, RTI activist DB Binu, challenged the legality of the notification issued by the Centre in the official gazette of India published on June 6.The CBI and NIA are organisations established by the Central Government for investigation and prosecution of crimes. These were not organisations established for intelligence and security purposes. So the decision of the government is illegal.The Centre had abused the power by amending the second schedule of the RTI Act, the petitioner contended in  the court.