Won't share meeting agenda under RTI: IIT Guwahati new 'resolution'

The Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati (IIT-G) has passed a peculiar resolution. According to the resolution, the institute has decided not to share the agenda of meetings. The move came at a time when was receiving many RTI requests for the same. According to transcripts of the meeting, the resolution terms the agenda papers “exclusive document to members of board only [sic]”. Experts have declared this as a clear violation of the Right to Information Act.

According to RTI activist Anjali Bharadwaj, no resolution could be above the law. She has been working with a number of RTI activism organisation. She opined that any information that dealt with a public authority such as an IIT would fall under the jurisdiction of RTI act, as that was of public interest. She further added that the institute was a public authority by virtue of being funded by the central government. Bhardwaj opined that any rebuttal to provide information has to be warranted under Section 8 of the Act. The act deals with exceptions such as national security, intellectual property and personal information, which has nothing to do with public activity or interest, among others.

In this case, the resolution does not talk about exception which it is using under Section 8. Rather it talks about the “RTI queries and appeals requesting for agenda papers” and decided that “agenda papers are NOT to be given to others [sic] for observation”. The resolution, passed in the 99th board of governors meeting on October 31 last year, seems to make the explanation that the agenda is “subject to change till last minute of the meeting [sic]”.

Experts were of the opinion that this is no explanation by IIT Guwahati for not providing information, as all information that is of public interest can be called for by the public, even if it is changed later.

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