Tag: Better India

Again ban of chinese apps

The Government banned chinese apps again.As we all know there was 59 applications which include tiktok, shareit , uc browser, camscannner, club factory which were part of tension admist the border were banned  on june 29. They were banned due to  engagement of activities prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity, defence , public security and  order. They were matter of threat  to people. Some of the apps like tik tok were banned under  sec 69  A  of the Information technology Act as it was containing some of the pornographic contant.

This occured when there occured a sad and sorrowful incident  admist the tense border  standoff between India and china  beijing ,a incident which killed 20 indian army in June 15 by china troops  along the line of  actual control .Even we came to know from Minister of Information Technology that there is  misuse of mobile apps  available on Android and Ios platforms where stealing  and transmitting user’s data  in an unauthorised manner to servers which have location outside India. It was hostile to national security,defence of India, which impunges upon 
Sovereignty and integrity of India ,was matter of concern. For this situation , sufficient steps required to be taken. 
Therefore , government came forward with the task of banning all these apps whether used with internet or not . There were variety of apps like  starting from  e commerce  to gaming, social media browsers, sharing file and message to china. All are geting transmitted to beijing  agencies.
At present , india again banned  47 apps which arè variants of chinese apps. the apps are  Tiktok lite,  helo lite,  shareit lite, BIGO live lite, VFY lite.
Chinese company was having 300 million users of their apps , 2/3 rd of mobile phones downloaded their product.
 Tiktok apps  ban led to drastic effects to people  especially youngsters . A 18 years old tiktok creator  committed suicide.   People mentally became sick for these chinese apps.

Concept of ‘Power of Attorney’ (POA)

 

Meaning of the term ‘Power Of Attorney’

‘Power Of Attorney’ is an authority given by an instrument by one person, called as the donor or principal, authorising another person, called donee or agent to act on his behalf. There may be possibility of giving ‘Power Of Attorney’ by two or more persons jointly to one or more persons. Here a legal authority is given by the principal to the agent which may be broad or limited and an agent can take all necessary decisions i.e. financial, property related matters and all other matters where principal cannot be present to sign or in the case of principal’s illness and disability. A paper signed by principal giving powers to an agent is sometimes itself called a power of attorney. A paper giving a power of attorney should be clear and understandable.

 Importance of Power of Attorney

A power of attorney document is an extremely important part of estate planning yet one of the most misunderstood. It is often convenient or even necessary to have someone else act for you as there is advancement in the business and commerce transactions. As many people confuse the power of attorney (POA) with a will (Probate), but these documents are two very different things and have two very different functions. A will comes into effect on the day person die. A POA applies during a person’s lifetime and ceases to apply when he dies. So you actually need both a POA and a will as they complement, and do not overlap, each other. To add a twist to the subject, there are two types of POA: one for property and one for personal care. These two types are completely separate. They deal with different areas of your life and both are required for effective estate planning.

Classification of Attorney

 The Power of Attorney can be classified into two categories which includes:

 General Power of Attorney: A general power of attorney is one by which an instrument is executed by the principal authorising the agent to do certain acts in general on his behalf. The word ‘General’ here means that the power must be general regarding the subject matter and not general with regard to powers in respect of a subject matter. If the subject matter is not general but restricted to something either specific or specifically mentioned by the principal while drafting an instrument then it will not constitute a general power of attorney. It is otherwise called as limited power of attorney.

 Special Power of Attorney: A special power of attorney is one by which a person is appointed by the principal to do some specified act or acts. In this type of power of attorney, an agent conferred with a power to do specific act in a single or specified transactions in the name of the principal.

 Durable Power of Attorney: A Power of Attorney which specifically says otherwise, agent’s power ends if principal become mentally incapacitated. However, a power of attorney may say that it is to remain in effect in the event of future incapacity of the principal. A power of attorney that says this is called a durable power of attorney.

To ascertain whether power of attorney is of general or special in nature, the subject matter in respect of which power is conferred Is to be seen accurately. The power of attorney is the unilateral document wherein donor or the principal gives authoritative power to the agent by signing the document and the agent’s sign is not always required.

 Persons Competent To Execute

A power of attorney can be executed by any person who is competent to enter into a contract. However, the married women can execute powers of attorney even if they are minors. A company while executing power of attorney must make conformity with the ‘Articles of Association’ and its common seal. A person must be competent to give power to the appointed person so that it will not affect the legality of the instrument/deed of power of attorney.

Authentication of power of Attorney

As per Indian law, a power of attorney is a legal document that has to be properly framed, using the right legal terminology and setting out the objectives and responsibilities that you wish to authorise the appointee to carry out on your behalf. If a person wants to authorise someone to act as a power of attorney on his behalf, it must be signed and notarised by a certified notary advocate, who is able to declare that you are competent at the time of signing the document to issue the said power of attorney. You will need to show your ID to the notary advocate before he/she is able to certify and issue the document. It must be executed and authenticated by the registrar or sub-registrar of assurances as per the ‘Registration Act, 1908’.

Presumption About Power of Attorney

 A power of attorney is legal written document which has more legal value and the authenticated attorney will be presumed by the court as legal document under ‘Indian Evidence Act, 1872’. According to the Section: 85 of ‘Indian Evidence Act, 1872’, which provides that the court shall presume that every document purporting to be a power of attorney, and has to be clearly authenticate and executed before the notary or magistrate. If there is any issue arises concerning to the genuineness of the attorney then proof of its execution can be called for the verification.

The legal issue of Custodial Violence in India

 

The term “custodial violence” has not been defined under any law. It is a combination of two word custody and violence. The word ‘custody’ implies guardianship and protective care. Even when applied to indicate arrest or imprisonment, it does not carry any evil symptoms during custody. In a law dictionary the word ‘custody’; has been defined as charge and with regard to a person in imprisonment: judicial or penal safekeeping. As Per Chamber Dictionary, the condition of being held by the police, arrest or imprisonment is called ‘custody’. As Per Legal Glossary Dictionary, custody is imprisonment, the detaining of a person by virtue of lawful Power or authority.

Section 167 of the Code of Criminal Procedure speak about two type of custody i.e. police custody and judicial custody. As per section 167(1) of Cr. P.C., “the magistrate to whom an accused person is forwarded under this section may whether he has or not has jurisdiction to try the case, from time to time, authorize the detention of the accused in such custody as he may think fit. Provided that the magistrate may authorize the detention of the accused person, otherwise than in the custody of the police, beyond the period of 15 days if he is satisfied that adequate ground exist for doing so. So as per section 167 (1) of Cr. Pc. ‘police custody’ can be granted for a maximum period of fifteen days only’ Police custody basically means police remand for the purpose of interrogation. In law actually a police officer has two occasion to keep a person in its custody firstly, from the period when he arrest a person till he produce the said person in the court i.e. first 24 hours of the arrest of accuse. Secondly, when police gets, remand from court after producing the accuse in the court which can be extend up to a maximum period fifteen days, thereafter, a person is sent in judicial custody which in general terms means jail or prison, where an accuse remain in custody till he gets bail or if convicted and sentenced to jail till the completion of sentence. As per law, ‘custody’ of a person begins when the police arrest him.

Other type of custody as mentioned earlier is ‘judicial custody’ which means sending a person in jail or prison. As per section 3 (1) of ‘The Prison Act, 1894’, ‘Prison’ means any jail or place used permanently or temporarily under the general or special order of a State Government for the detention of prisoners and include all land and building appurtenant thereto, but does not include:-

(a) Any place for the confinement of prisoners who are exclusively in the custody of police; or
(b) Any place specially appointed by State Government under section 541 of the old Criminal Procedure Code, 1882,
(c) Any place, which has been declared by the State Government by general or special order to be subsidiary jail.

The term ‘violence’ is the state or quality of being violent, excessive unrestraint or unjustified force, outrage perforate injury. ‘Violence’ in its literal sense has been defined as the use of force by one person over another so as to cause injury to him. The injury may be physical, mental or otherwise. The simple definition of violence is behaviour designed to inflict injury on a person or damage to property. Custodial violence is a term, which is used for describing violence committed against a person by a police authority. Thus, custodial violence can be defined as “an inhuman trait that springs out of a perverse desire to cause suffering when there is no possibility of any retaliation; a senseless exhibition of superiority and physical power over the one who is overpowered.” According to Law Commission of India, crime by a public servant against the arrested or detained person who is in custody amounts to custodial violence. According to Dr. S. Subramaniam, “Any use of force threat psychological pressure is termed as custodial violence. According to Justice B.P. Jeevan Reddy, “Custodial violence includes torture, death, rape and excessive beating in police custody”.

Although, overcrowding, malnutrition, unhygienic conditions and lack of medical care are some of the factors of death in police and judicial custody, but custodial violence remains the common cause of deaths in prisons and lock-ups. The custodial violence is a generic term and includes all and every type of torture, third degree, harassment, brutality, use of force not warranted by law, etc. custodial violence include illegal detention, arrest which is wrongful or on illegal or on insufficient grounds using third degree method, on the suspects, humiliating them, using filthy language, not allowing them to sleep, extorting confession under pressure, padding up of additional evidence, misuse of the power regarding handcuffing not allowing to meet counsel or family member to accuse, denial of food etc. However since the torture or third degree in the most common and prominent form of custodial violence by the police.

The police officials commit an act of violence upon the persons in their custody under the guise of investigation and interrogation. The heinousness of this crime is that it is committed upon the citizens by the very person who is considered to be the guardian of the citizens. It is committed under the shield of uniform and authority within the four walls of Police Station or lock up, the victim being totally helpless in these circumstances. The protection of an individual from torture and abuse of power by police and other law enforcing officers is a matter of deep concern in a free society.

The chances of violence committed by police on persons in its custody are much greater than any other form of violence. The basic reason behind it is that the victims of such violence are unable to protest against it. The police officers use their official position to manipulate evidences against themselves. Death in custody is generally not shown on the records of the lock-up and every effort is made by the police to dispose of the body or to make out a case that the arrested person died after he was released from jail. Any complaint against torture is not given attention because of ties of brotherhood. No direct evidence is available to substantiate the charge of torture or causing hurt resulting into death, as the police lock- up where generally torture or injury is caused is away from public gaze and the witnesses are either policemen or co-prisoners who are highly reluctant to appear as prosecution witness due to fear of retaliation by the superior officers of the police.

However, in spite of the Constitutional and Statutory provisions contained in the Criminal Procedure Code and the Indian Penal Code aimed at safeguarding personal liberty and life of a citizen, the growing incidence of torture and deaths in police custody has been disturbing. Experience shows that the worst violations of human rights take place during the course of investigation when the police, with a view to securing evidence or confessions, often resort to third-degree methods including torture and techniques of arrests by either not recording them or describing the deprivation of liberty merely as “prolonged interrogations”. A reading of the morning newspapers carrying reports of dehumanising torture, assault, rape and death in police custody or other governmental agencies almost every day is, indeed, depressing. The increasing incidence of torture and death in custody has assumed such alarming proportions that it is affecting the credibility of the rule of law and the administration of the criminal justice system. As a result the society rightly feels perturbed. The society’s cry for justice becomes louder.

Any form of torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, whether it occurs during investigation, interrogation or otherwise needs the severest condemnation. If the functionaries of the Government become law-breakers, it is bound to breed contempt for the law and no civilised nation can permit that to happen. Custodial violence may be both physical and or mental. It may also consist of gross negligence or deliberate inaction. In a case, when a person was suffering from high blood pressure or similar type of disease, almost for which continuous medicine is essential, and he is not allowed to take medicines the men develop serious health problem or dies. The Apex Court held it to be a case of custodial violence and the State was made liable for damages for their gross negligence in protecting the person in custody.

Civic Sense

Life is a journey from beginner to a pro. It drives us from a million ways through which we live, learn, seek, embrace and grow. The growth of a human being into a person is what involves the entire journey of a lifetime. For every second a person lives, he grows in a million uncounted, un-felt ways. The greatest mechanism for the transformation of a human being to a person is education. Education is the power that can change the world.

Education is an integral part of human development and there exist an essential need for the same. But as always said, Growth is always multidimensional. Education teachers of person theoretically. There is a need of social recognisation and realisation in people which we call the Civic sense. The sense of responsibility and concern towards being a good human is what constitutes to an important branch of growth. Teaching makes people intelligent but civic sense makes people gentleman. Also, What point is it to have an education system which lacks the basic education?
people lack in having civic sense as they were never taught about the importance regarding the same. In rushing after our ambitions, we often forget that we need to be responsible and sensible about our living too. There are many strategies and steps which could be followed in order to improve the current situation of our generation as lack of civic sense does not only pulls human away from being a complete person but also exploits the environment. Instances like dumping garbage in the middle of high speeding road, leaving over the packages marks how can professional and uncivilized this generation is.
There should be a systemised remedy provided for the same. As qualities like these are developed in the early stages, the schools should have a subject about Moral Education or  Values to Uphold to highlight the importance of being a good human being and how to pursue it.
Only if we start it from the initials, we will make it to the finals too. It is high time for the generation to step out and see the ways to turn their imperfection into areas of improvement. Besides, awareness programs should be held, laws should be made for betterment of the same. When the people will come together, the environment, ethics and morals will never have to be compromised.
Education drives human to a person but civic sense a person to the person.

Flourishing Poverty

Lost are the days when the happiness abide
The humans- not the distinction..
To witness the bare feet and the aching stomach
Is what the flourishing poverty brought to us.

The glory of India has evolved through jewels of wisdom and royale but on the other hand it has been through a lot of bleak ways which spread their way now too even after ages of the start.
The ways being talked about are the ways through which poverty, with every passing tenure widens its arms and stretches farther on all the left out communities of India. Technically, poverty refers to the lack of monetary facilities which obstruct a citizen to satisfy his needs or wants. If given a detailed look,it will be realised that this evil poverty not only lies in terms of money but has a great extension when it comes to opportunities development performance and preferences especially for the left out communities of India.
Not only the inferior community experience poverty but they witness poverty at even worse when it compelled them to scrounge their glitter of life.
They are poor for not being able to withstand the glorified people. They are even poorer for not being able to witness  the politics and policies and false promises made to each one of them from endless of mediators come true. 
Poverty in India not only describes itself as lack of money but teaches a lot too. The people of slums are not bothered at all for not having a royal living but all the pray is to ‘not have’ empty stomach. When a rich kid is witnessed excluding his tattered shoes from wearing, these tender kids find the world of happiness from the same. The poor kids are not at all in complex with them being in a state of loan desolation but they count on it as a bouquet of wonders which they encounter with every ride they take to accomplish their tasks.
Poverty vanishes the abilities, worth and consideration of people and entancled in it.
No matter how much we try to deny this fact but Poverty is eating the growth of our country. It is because of this, that a country still needs ages to grow completely, inside out.
The Government of India should take decisions and actions to safeguard and protect the future talents and shining stars of the country. All of us have to initiate spreading empathy, colours and equality instead of flourishing poverty.

The Social issue of Child Labour

 

The children should not have to work is universally accepted, but there are no universal answer why the problem of child labour persist and how it needs to be tackled. India is faced with the crucial task of eliminating the child labour which is prevalent in all spheres of life. Thousands of children are engaged in the carpet factories, glass factories and other hazardous industries all over the country.

The term child labour has generally two-fold interpretations. Firstly, it is implied to be an economic necessity of poor households and secondly, the explosive aspect in children‟s work concerned with the profit maximizing urge of commercial establishment wherein children are made to work for long hours, paid low remuneration and deprived of educational opportunities.

International Labour Organisation (ILO) defines child labour to “… include children leading permanently adult lives, working long hours for low wages under conditions damaging to their health and physical and mental development, sometime separated from their families, frequently deprived of meaningful educational and training opportunities that could be open up to them a better future”.

Reasons For Child Labour:
There are many reasons for the existence of child labour and it varies with place and place to place. In India, poverty is one of the important factors for poverty, but it‟s not the sole factor. Children provide cheap labour, the person who wants labour has to pay less to them than adult labour. The child can be commanded more than an adult. The pull factor of the child labour is the profit maximization.

The main causes to failure to control the child labour are; poverty, low wages than adult, unemployment, absence of schemes for family allowance, migration to urban areas, large family size, children being cheaply available, non existence of strict provisions for compulsory education, illiteracy, ignorance of parents and traditional attitudes.

Child Labour In India:
India accounts for the second highest number where child labour in the world is concerned. Africa accounts for the highest number of children employed and exploited. The fact is that across the length and breadth of the nation, children are in a pathetic condition.

Child labour in India is a human right issue for the whole world. It is a serious and extensive problem, with many children under the age of fourteen working in carpet making factories, glass blowing units and making fireworks with bare little hands. According to the statistics given by Indian government there are 20 million Child labours in the country, while other agencies claim that it is 50 million.

The situation of Child labours in India is desperate. Children work for eight hours at a stretch with only a small break for meals. The meals are also frugal and the children are ill nourished. Most of the migrant children, who cannot go home, sleep at their work place, which is very bad for their health and development. Seventy five percent of Indian population still resides in rural areas and are very poor. Children in rural families who are ailing with poverty perceive their children as an income generating resource to supplement the family income. Parents sacrifice their children‟s education to the growing needs of their younger siblings in such families and view them as wage earners for the entire clan.

In Northern India the exploitation of little children for labour is an accepted practice and perceived by the local population as a necessity to alleviate poverty. Carpet weaving industries pay very low wages to Child labours and make them work for long hours in unhygienic conditions. Children working in such units are mainly migrant workers from Northern India, who are shunted here by their families to earn some money and send it to them. Their families dependence on their income, forces them to endure the onerous work conditions in the carpet factories.

While experts blame the system, poverty, illiteracy, adult unemployment; yet the fact is that the entire nation is responsible for every crime against a child. Instead of nipping the problem at the bud, child labour in India was allowed to increase with each passing year. And today, young ones below the age of 14 have become an important part of various industries; at the cost of their innocence, childhood, health and for that matter their lives.

Indian Constitution And Child Labour:
Article 23 of Indian Constitution prohibits the trafficking in human beings and forced labour. And Article 24 prohibits the employment of children in factories. It says that No child below the age of fourteen years shall be employed to work in any factory or mine or engaged in any other hazardous employment.

The general understanding was that right secured by Article 24 will hardly be effective in the absence of legislation prohibiting and penalising its violation. However, Supreme Court clearly stated that Article 24 “must operate proprio vigour” even if the prohibition lay down in it is not “followed up by appropriate legislation.” In Labourers, Salal Hydro Project v. State of J&K it was again held that the employment of children below 14 in construction work violates Article 24.

It was noted in M C Mehta v. State of Tamilnadu, that menace of child labour was wide spread. Therefore it issued wide ranging directions in the context of employment and exploitation of children in Sivakasi, prohibiting employment of children below the age of 14 and making arrangement for their education by creating a fund and providing employment to the parents or the able bodied adults in the family. These directions were reiterated in Bandhu Mukti Morcha v. Union of India, concerning the employment of children in carpet weaving industry in U.P.

The State shall, in particular, direct its policy towards securing the health and strength of workers, men and women, and the tender age of children are not abused and that citizens are not forced by economic necessity to enter avocations unsuited to their age or strength. Also the State shall, direct its policy towards securing the given opportunities and facilities to develop in a healthy manner and in conditions of freedom and dignity and that childhood and youth are protected against exploitation and against moral and material abandonment to the children.

Article 45 of Indian Constitution made provision for early childhood care and education to children below the age of six years. As per this Article the State shall endeavours to provide early childhood care and education for all children until they complete the age of six years.

Honour Killing

 

‘Honor crimes are acts of violence, usually murder, committed by male family members against female family members, who are held to have brought dishonor upon the family. A woman can be targeted by (individuals within) her family for a variety of reasons, including refusing to enter into an arranged marriage, being the victim of a sexual assault, seeking a divorce — even from an abusive husband — or (allegedly) committing adultery. The mere perception that a woman has behaved in a way that “dishonors” her family is sufficient to trigger an attack on her life.’

‘Honor killings are not new to the rural India especially in the regions of Hariyana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. But then such cases are not just restricted to the rural areas. They are also heard of in our capital and in the southern states like Kerela, Tamil Nadu etc. The Aarushi Talwar Case and the killing of Kuldeep and Monica are speculated to be such killings.

Our country has been very selective about the kind of development she has undergone. On an international level with the nuclear deal, 8% growth rate and the recognition India is enjoying to voice its opinion, it seems that ‘India is shining’. But dig deeper into the dark secrets of this developing nation and we still find rampant killings of young couples by their own family members to save their honor because of the incest committed by the couple. Their crime: living in the same village and getting married.

According to the ‘conservative’ khap panchayat, marriage between people of the same village is considered incest as they are siblings and hence these marriages are not valid. So the panchayat orders the murder of the couple and hangs their body in the village crossing as an example to other straying couples.

In India, with its patriarchal society, women are considered as property and the vessel of family’s honor. And any act which might blot the family’s prestige renders an absolute right to the male members to murder the girl, undo her wrongs and win back the honor.

Such crimes as well as such criminals have been breeding under the political blessings of the political parties mainly interested in the vote banks of these villages and the support of the khap panchayat. 

In order to find a solution for such killings, it is necessary to analyze it from the very core. The solution to this problem mainly lies in the eradication of myths in the minds of people. They need to be educated with the provisions given in the Hindu Marriage Act and what kinds of marriages are actually considered invalid. Khap Pachayats should at last be ripped out of all its power so that it is unable to wrongly influence the naïve people and to instigate them to commit such inhuman acts.

It is time India finally developed in the real sense. Building malls and increasing the standard of living of the common man is not really development. Cases on Honour killing show that more than half of the Indians still lead lives within the strong crutches of caste system and even today youths don’t have the power to make decisions regarding their own lives. To see that even today, people blindly commit such barbaric crimes and consider it as an act of sanctifying the impure shows that India has really not modernized.   Development has to be from the very base, the core. Or else it’s just a hollow wooden structure eaten on the inside by the termites that eventually comes crashing down.

Rights of a Consumer

 

Every year 15th of March is celebrated as National Consumer Rights Day marking the day when Bill for Consumer Rights were moved in the US Congress. The Consumers International (CI), recognizes eight rights, which in a logical order reads:

1. Basic Needs
2. Safety
3. Information
4. Choice
5. Representation
6. Redress
7. Consumer Education and
8. Healthy Environment.

However the Consumer Protection Act (COPRA) in 1986 in India recognises only six of these eight rights:

1. The right to be protected against marketing of goods and services which are hazardous to life and property i.e. Right to Safety:
The Consumer Protection Act 1986 defines this right as the ‘right to be protected against marketing of goods and services which are hazardous to life and property’. The right are significant in areas of healthcare, food processing and pharmaceuticals and spans across any domain that could have impact on consumers health or well being. Violation of this right is mostly in medical malpractice lawsuits in India. Every year in India not less than millions of Citizen are killed or severely hurt by unscrupulous practices by hospitals, doctors, pharmacies and the automobile industry yet the Indian Government due to its callousness fails to acknowledge this fact or make an attempt at maintaining statistic of these mishaps. The Government need to have world class product testing facilities to test drugs, cars, food, and any other consumable that could potentially be life threatening.

In developed countries such as the United States, stalwart agencies oversee the safety of consumer product. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for food and drugs, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for automobiles and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) for all other consumer products, just to name a few. This right requires each product that could potentially endanger our lives to be marketed only after sufficient and complete independent verification and validation.

2. The right to be informed about the quality, quantity, potency, purity, standard and price of goods or services, as the case may be, so as to protect the consumer against unfair trade practices:
This consumer right is defined as the ‘the right to be informed about the quality, quantity, potency, purity, standard and price of goods or services, as the case may be so as to protect the consumer against unfair trade practices’ in the Consumer Protection Act of 1986. In the Indian market place, consumers get consumer information through two popular, yet unreliable means, namely advertising and word of mouth. Due to this, the consumers in India seldom have accurate and complete information to assess the true value, suitability, safety or reliability of any product. Mostly we find out hidden costs, lack of suitability, safety hazards and quality problems only after we have purchased the product. Another right again trumpeted by our government on paper, this right should ideally ensure that all consumable products are labelled in a standard manner which contains the cost, the ingredients, quantity, and instructions on how to safely consume the product. Unfortunately, even the medicines in India do not follow a standard labelling convention. Unit price publishing standards need to be established for consumer market places where costs are shown in standard units such as per kilogram, or per litre. We, as consumers, should be informed in a precise yet accurate manner of the costs involved when availing a loan. For benefit to the society from this right, advertisers should be held against the product standards in the advertisements, pharmaceuticals need to disclose potential side effects about their drugs, and manufacturers should be required to publish reports from independent product testing laboratories regarding the comparison of the quality of their products with competitive products, just to name a few.

3. The right to be assured, wherever possible, of access to a variety of goods and services at competitive prices:
Consumer Protection Act, 1986 defines this right as ‘the right to be assured, wherever possible, to have access to a variety of goods and services at competitive prices’. Competition, invariably, is the best regulator of a market place. Existence of oligopolies, cartels and monopolies are counterproductive to consumerism. Our natural resources, telecommunications, liquor industry, airlines have all been controlled by a mafia at some point. Coming from a socialistic background, tolerance of monopolistic market forces are ingrained in the blood of Indian Consumers. It is not very often we can say we are going to switch the power company, when we have a blackout at home! Interestingly, even micro markets such as the fish vendors in particular cities have known to collude to drain the bargaining power of the consumers. In any size, any form, or any span, collusion of companies selling a similar type of product is unethical, less illegal. India has about 20 years more of stride to empower our citizens fully in this right.

4. The right to be heard and to be assured that consumers’ interests will receive due consideration at appropriate forums: According to the Consumer Protection Act 1986, ‘the right to be heard and to be assured that consumer’s interests will receive due consideration at appropriate forums’ is referred to as the right to be heard. This right is supposed to empower Indian consumers to fearlessly voice their complaints and concerns against products and companies to ensure their issues are handled efficiently and expeditiously. However, to date the Government of India has not created a single outlet for the consumers to be heard or their opinions to be voiced. If a consumer makes an allegation about a product, the onus is on the dealer, manufacturer or supplying company to disprove that the allegation is false. In other words, the consumer is heard, and the burden of proof rests with the company. Feeble attempts have been made by the government to empower our citizens with this right.

5. The right to seek redressal against unfair trade practices or restrictive trade practices or unscrupulous exploitation of consumers:
The right ‘to seek redressal against unfair trade practices or restrictive trade practices or unscrupulous exploitation of consumers’ is defined as the right to redressal in the Consumer Protection Act 1986. The Indian Government has been slightly more successful with respect to this right. Consumer courts such as District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forums at the district level, State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions and National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions have been established through the consumer protection act. Each of these consumer grievance redressal agencies has fiduciary and geographical jurisdictions to address consumer cases between consumers and businesses. Consumer cases less than 20 lakhs are heard in the district consumer forum, between 20 lakhs and one crore are heard in the state consumer court and cases more than one crore are heard in the national consumer court. On paper these sound nice; but hold on before you rejoice. Once started as the guardians of consumer protection and consumer rights in India, these courts have today been rendered ineffective due to bureaucratic sabotages, callousness of the government, clogged cases and decadent infrastructure. Very few of the district forums have officials appointed in a timely manner, and most of them are non-operational due to lack of funding and infrastructure. Estimates put the open legal cases in India at 20-30 million, which will approximately take 320 years to close. With the legal system in this manner compromised, consumer cases that form mere civil litigations will be pushed down the bottom of the priority list.

6. The right to consumer education:
The right of each Indian citizen to be educated on matters related to consumer protection and about his/her rights is the last right given by the Consumer Protection Act 1986. This right simply ensures that the consumers in India have access to informational programs and materials that would enable them to make better purchasing decisions. Consumer education may mean both formal education through school and college curriculums and also consumer awareness campaigns run by both governmental and non governmental agencies (NGO). Consumer NGOs, with little support from the Indian government, primarily undertake the ardent task of ensuring this consumer right around the country.

Lok Adalat/People’s Court

 

Lok Adalat is one of the alternative dispute redressal mechanisms, it is a forum where disputes/cases pending in the court of law or at pre-litigation stage are settled/ compromised amicably. Lok Adalats have been given statutory status under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987. Under the said Act, the award (decision) made by the Lok Adalats is deemed to be a decree of a civil court and is final and binding on all parties and no appeal against such an award lies before any court of law. If the parties are not satisfied with the award of the Lok Adalat though there is no provision for an appeal against such an award, but they are free to initiate litigation by approaching the court of appropriate jurisdiction by filing a case by following the required procedure, in exercise of their right to litigate.

There is no court fee payable when a matter is filed in a Lok Adalat. If a matter pending in the court of law is referred to the Lok Adalat and is settled subsequently, the court fee originally paid in the court on the complaints/petition is also refunded back to the parties. The persons deciding the cases in the Lok Adalats are called the Members of the Lok Adalats, they have the role of statutory conciliators only and do not have any judicial role; therefore they can only persuade the parties to come to a conclusion for settling the dispute outside the court in the Lok Adalat and shall not pressurize or coerce any of the parties to compromise or settle cases or matters either directly or indirectly. The Lok Adalat shall not decide the matter so referred at its own instance, instead the same would be decided on the basis of the compromise or settlement between the parties. The members shall assist the parties in an independent and impartial manner in their attempt to reach amicable settlement of their dispute.

Nature of Cases to be Referred to Lok Adalat

1. Any case pending before any court.

2. Any dispute which has not been brought before any court and is likely to be filed before the court.

Provided that any matter relating to an offence not compoundable under the law shall not be settled in Lok Adalat.

Which Lok Adalat to be Approached

As per section 18(1) of the Act, a Lok Adalat shall have jurisdiction to determine and to arrive at a compromise or settlement between the parties to a dispute in respect of –

(1) Any case pending before; or

(2) Any matter which is falling within the jurisdiction of, and is not brought before, any court for which the Lok Adalat is organised.

Provided that the Lok Adalat shall have no jurisdiction in respect of matters relating to divorce or matters relating to an offence not compoundable under any law.

How to Get the Case Referred to the Lok Adalat for Settlement

(A) Case pending before the court.

(B) Any dispute at pre-litigative stage.

The State Legal Services Authority or District Legal Services Authority as the case may be on receipt of an application from any one of the parties at a pre-litigation stage may refer such matter to the Lok Adalat for amicable settlement of the dispute for which notice would then be issued to the other party.

Levels and Composition of Lok Adalats:

At the State Authority Level –

The Member Secretary of the State Legal Services Authority organizing the Lok Adalat would constitute benches of the Lok Adalat, each bench comprising of a sitting or retired judge of the High Court or a sitting or retired judicial officer and any one or both of- a member from the legal profession; a social worker engaged in the upliftment of the weaker sections and interested in the implementation of legal services schemes or programmes.

At High Court Level –

The Secretary of the High Court Legal Services Committee would constitute benches of the Lok Adalat, each bench comprising of a sitting or retired judge of the High Court and any one or both of- a member from the legal profession; a social worker engaged in the upliftment of the weaker sections and interested in the implementation of legal services schemes or programmes.

At District Level –

The Secretary of the District Legal Services Authority organizing the Lok Adalat would constitute benches of the Lok Adalat, each bench comprising of a sitting or retired judicial officer and any one or both of either a member from the legal profession; and/or a social worker engaged in the upliftment of the weaker sections and interested in the implementation of legal services schemes or programmes or a person engaged in para-legal activities of the area, preferably a woman.

At Taluk Level –

The Secretary of the Taluk Legal Services Committee organizing the Lok Adalat would constitute benches of the Lok Adalat, each bench comprising of a sitting or retired judicial officer and any one or both of either a member from the legal profession; and/or a social worker engaged in the upliftment of the weaker sections and interested in the implementation of legal services schemes or programmes or a person engaged in para-legal activities of the area, preferably a woman.

National Lok Adalat

National Level Lok Adalats are held for at regular intervals where on a single day Lok Adalats are held throughout the country, in all the courts right from the Supreme Court till the Taluk Levels wherein cases are disposed off in huge numbers. From February 2015, National Lok Adalats are being held on a specific subject matter every month.

Permanent Lok Adalat

The other type of Lok Adalat is the Permanent Lok Adalat, organized under Section 22-B of The Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987. Permanent Lok Adalats have been set up as permanent bodies with a Chairman and two members for providing compulsory pre-litigative mechanism for conciliation and settlement of cases relating to Public Utility Services like transport, postal, telegraph etc. Here, even if the parties fail to reach to a settlement, the Permanent Lok Adalat gets jurisdiction to decide the dispute, provided, the dispute does not relate to any offence. Further, the Award of the Permanent Lok Adalat is final and binding on all the parties. The jurisdiction of the Permanent Lok Adalats is upto Rs. Ten Lakhs. Here if the parties fail to reach to a settlement, the Permanent Lok Adalat has the jurisdiction to decide the case. The award of the Permanent Lok Adalat is final and binding upon the parties. The Lok Adalat may conduct the proceedings in such a manner as it considers appropriate, taking into account the circumstances of the case, wishes of the parties like requests to hear oral statements, speedy settlement of dispute etc.

Mobile Lok Adalats are also organized in various parts of the country which travel from one location to another to resolve disputes in order to facilitate the resolution of disputes through this mechanism.

As on 30.09.2015, more than 15.14 lakhs Lok Adalats have been organized in the country since its inception. More than 8.25 crore cases have been settled by this mechanism so far.

‘WILL’ under Indian Law

 

Meaning:

A Will is a solemn document by which a dead man entrusts to the living to the carrying out of his wishes. Section 2(h) of Indian Succession Act, 1925 provides that Will means the legal declaration of the intention of a person with respect to his property, which he desires to take effect after his death Will has been defined in Corpus Juris Secundum as A ‘Will’ is the legal declaration of a man’s intention, which he wills to be performed after his death, or an instrument by which a person makes a disposition of his property to take effect after his death.

Essential Features of a Will

A Will can be made at any time in the life of a person. A Will can be changed a number of times and there are no legal restrictions as to the number of times it can be changed. It can be withdrawn at anytime during the lifetime of the person making the Will. A Will has to be attested by two or more witnesses, each of who should have seen the testator signing the Will.
The essential features are:

1.     Legal declaration: The documents purporting to be a Will or a testament must be legal, i.e. in conformity with the law and must be executed by a person legally competent to make it. Further the declaration of intention must be with respect to the testator’s property It is a legal document, which has a binding force upon the family.

2. Disposition of property: In a Will, the testator bequeaths or leaves his property to the person or people he chooses to leave his assets/belongings. A Hindu person by way of his Will can bequeath all his property. However, a member of an undivided family cannot bequeath his coparcenery interest in the family property

3. Takes effect after death: The Will is enforceable only after the death of the testator

Under section 18 of the Registration Act the registration of a Will is not compulsory. Also, the SC in Narain Singh v. Kamla Devi has held that mere non-registration of the Will an inference cannot be drawn against the genuines of the Will. However it is advisable to register it as it provides strong legal evidence about the validity of the Will. Once a Will is registered, it is placed in the safe custody of the Registrar and therefore cannot be tampered with, destroyed, mutilated or stolen. It is to be released only to the testator himself or, after his death, to an authorized person who produces the Death Certificate

Since a testamentary disposition always speaks from the grave of the testator, the required standard of proof is very high. The initial burden of proof is always on the person who propounds the Will.

Kinds of Wills

Ø Conditional Wills: A Will maybe made to take effect on happening of a condition. In Rajeshwar v. Sukhdeo the operation of the Will was postponed till after the death of the testator’s wife. However if it is ambiguous whether the testator intended to make a Will conditional, the language of the documents as well as the circumstances are to be taken into consideration.

 

Ø Joint Wills: Two or more persons can make a joint Will. If the joint Will is joint and is intended to take effect after the death of both, it will not be admitted to probate during the life time of either and are revocable at any time by either during the joint lives or after the death of the survivor.

 

Ø Mutual Wills: Two or more persons may agree to make mutual Wills i.e. to confer on each other reciprocal benefits. In mutual Wills the testators confer benefit on each other but if the legatees and testators are distinct, it is not a mutual Will. Mutual Wills are also known as reciprocal Wills and its revocation is possible during the lifetime of either testator. But if a testator has obtained benefit then the claim against his property will lie. Where joint Will is a single document containing the Wills of two persons, mutual Wills are separate Wills of two persons.

 

Ø Privileged Wills: Privileged Wills are a special category of Wills and other general Wills are known as unprivileged Wills. S.65 of ISA provides that a Will made by a soldier or a airman or a mariner, when he is in actual service and is engaged in actual warfare, would be a privileged Will. S.66 provides for the mode of making and rules for executing privileged Wills. Ss. 65 and 66 are special provisions applicable to privileged Wills whereas other sections relating to Wills are general provisions which will be supplementary to Sections 65 and 66 in case of privileged Wills.

 

Who Can Make A Will
S.59 of Indian Succession Act provides that every person who is of sound mind and is not a minor can make a Will.

Execution of a Will

On the death of the testator, an executor of the Will (executor is the legal representative for all purposes of a deceased person and all the property of a testator vests in him. Whereas a trustee becomes a legal owner of the trust and his office and the property are blended together) or an heir of the deceased testator can apply for probate. The court will ask the other heirs of the deceased if they have any objections to the Will. If there are no objections, the court grants probate. A probate is a copy of a Will, certified by the court. A probate is to be treated as conclusive evidence of the genuineness of a Will. It is only after this that the Will comes into effect.

Signature of The Testator

S.63(a) of ISA provides that the testator shall sign or affix his mark. If the testator is unable to write his signature then he may execute the Will by a mark and by doing so his hand maybe guided by another person. In another words a thumb impression has been held as valid.

Attestation of Will:Attesting means signing a document for the purpose of testifying the signature of the executants. Therefore an attesting witness signing before the executants has put his mark on the Will, cannot be said to be a valid attestation. It is necessary that both the witnesses must sign in the presence of the testator but it is not necessary that the testator have to sign in their presence. Further it is not necessary that both the witnesses have to sign at the same time. It is also not necessary that the attesting witnesses should know the contents of the Will.

Concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

 

Corporate engagement with society, also termed corporate social responsibility (CSR), has become a commonly used term in contemporary society and refers to one process by which an organization expresses and develops its ‘corporate culture’ and social consciousness.

CSR has been receiving lots of attention from various backgrounds of researchers worldwide, it has attracted a great deal of attention over the past decade and according to some researchers, has gathered great momentum over the past number of years and is now regarded to be at its most prevalent. Therefore business leaders, government officials, and academics are focusing more and more attention on the concept of “corporate social responsibility”.

Almost all corporate websites/ policies/reports talk about their endeavors for CSR, which has become a way of ensuring that the organization is fulfilling all the obligations towards society and thus is eligible for the license to operate. It assures that the organization can grow on sustainable basis. There are also societal pressures with respect to social issues such as human rights and the environment on the corporations and CSR is widely regarded as the response of corporations to this pressure and according to Bénabou & Tirole (2009), responding to such pressure, business leaders, governments and academics are now also emphasizing the notion of CSR.

In CSR, the central issue is the appropriate role of business that overlaps, almost completely, with its reference area and now business organizations have waked up to the need for being committed towards CSR because the role of businesses in society is no longer focused on creating wealth alone but is also focused on acting responsibly towards stakeholders.

Everyone agrees that firms should obey the law. But beyond full compliance with environmental regulations do firms have additional moral or social responsibilities to voluntarily commit resources to environmental protection. To be specific, why companies do CSR? For this, it is answered that CSR is situations where the firm goes beyond compliance and engages in “actions that appear to further some social good, beyond the interests of the firm and that which is required by law” and it is also due to various reasons such as to attract new investors, part of branding strategy, an obligation from the government and the lists go on. However, CSR does not mean just taking part in charitable activities and events; it means holding the responsibility to develop the society by envisioning future plans for socio-economic justice and be conscious about their responsibility for the welfare of society around them. Therefore, according to Zu & Song (2008), a large number of companies appear increasingly engaged in a serious effort to define and integrate CSR into all aspects of their businesses.

Corporate executives have also encountered demands from multiple stakeholder groups to devote resources to CSR. This may be partially due to the pressure generated by a union of ethics-oriented campaigners including NGOs, anti-capitalism activists, labor unions, and news media; and partially due to the demand for doing so by their customers, employees, suppliers, communities, governments, and even stockholders. Ismail (2011) stated that CSR is supported by the case whereby the government alone is definitely cannot afford to have a sole responsibility in improving the lives of their people as it exceeds their capabilities. If the government is unable to fulfill the increasing demand of their people thus this is where the corporations should support the government. However, those who opposed this statement saw the situation as unfair to the business corporations, such as Friedman’s (1970) famous statement that ‘the only responsibility of a business is to maximize shareholders’ wealth’. But according to Krishnan & Balachandran, companies are beginning to realize the fact that in order to gain strategic initiative and to ensure continued existence, business practices may have to be molded from the normal practice of solely focusing on profits to factor in public goodwill and responsible business etiquettes.

An examination of some of the factors, which have led to the development of the concept of CSR, would be ideal starting ground for the conceptual development of suitable corporate business practices for emerging markets. Krishnan & Balachandran also expressed that in the last twenty years, there has been a sea change in the nature of the triangular relationship between companies, the state and the society.

No longer can firms continue to act as independent entities regardless of the interest of the general public. The evolution of the relationship between companies and society has been one of slow transformation from a philanthropic coexistence to one where the mutual interest of all the stakeholders is gaining paramount importance. Bénabou & Tirole (2009) asserted that CSR is somewhat of a “catch-all” phrase for an array of different concepts.

Public Interest Litigation (PIL)

 

Introduction:

“Public interest Litigation”, in simple words, means, litigation filed in a court of law, for the protection of “Public Interest”, such as pollution, Terrorism, Road safety, constructional hazards etc.

Article 32 of the Indian Constitution contains the tool which directly joins the public with the judiciary. Public Interest Litigation is not defined in any statute or in any act. It has been interpreted by judges to consider the intent of public at large.

Public Interest Litigation means a legal action initiated in a court of law for the enforcement of public interest or general interest in which the public or class of the community have pecuniary interest or some interest by which their legal rights or liabilities are affected.

In the case of People‟s Union for Democratic Rights v. Union of India, it was held that “Public Interest Litigation which is a strategic arm of the legal aid movement and which is intended to bring justice within the reach of the poor masses, who constitute the low visibility area of humanity, is a totally different kind of litigation from the ordinary traditional litigation which is essentially of an adversary character where there is a dispute between two parties, one making a claim or seeing relief against the other and that other opposing such claim or relief. Public interest litigation is brought before the court not for the purpose of enforcing the right of one individual against another as happens in the case of ordinary litigation, but it is intended to promote and vindicate public interest which demands that violations of constitutional or legal rights of large numbers of people who are poor, ignorant or in a socially or economically disadvantaged position should not go unnoticed and un-redressed. That would be destructive of the Rule of Law which forms one of the essential elements of public interest in any democratic form of government. The Rule of Law does not mean that the protection of the law must be available only to a fortunate few or that the law should be allowed to be prostituted by the vested interests for protecting and upholding the status quo under the guise of enforcement of their civil and political rights. The poor too have civil and political rights and the Rule of Law is meant for them also, though today it exists only on paper and not in reality.”

Development of Public Interest Litigation:

A new era of the PIL movement was heralded by Justice P.N. Bhagawati in the case of S.P. Gupta v. Union of India. In this case it was held that “any member of the public or social action group acting bonafide” can invoke the Writ Jurisdiction of the High Courts or the Supreme Court seeking redressal against violation of a legal or constitutional rights of persons who due to social or economic or any other disability cannot approach the Court. By this judgment PIL became a potent weapon for the enforcement of “public duties” where executed in action or misdeed resulted in public injury. And as a result any citizen of India or any consumer groups or social action groups can now approach the apex court of the country seeking legal remedies in all cases where the interests of general public or a section of public are at stake.

It can be evidently seen that the development of public interest litigation has been extremely significant development in the history of the Indian jurisprudence. The decisions of the Supreme Court in the 1970’s loosened the strict locus standi requirements to permit filing of petitions on behalf of marginalized and deprived sections of the society by public spirited individuals, institutions and/or bodies. The higher Courts exercised wide powers given to them under Articles 32 and 226 of the Constitution. The sort of remedies sought from the courts in the public interest litigation goes beyond award of remedies to the affected individuals and groups. In suitable cases, the courts have also given guidelines and directions. The courts have monitored implementation of legislation and even formulated guidelines in absence of legislation.

Merits of Public Interest Litigation:

1. In Public Interest Litigation (PIL) vigilant citizens of the country can find an inexpensive legal remedy because there is only a nominal fixed court fee involved in this.

2. Further, through the so-called PIL, the litigants can focus attention on and achieve results pertaining to larger public issues, especially in the fields of human rights, consumer welfare and environment.

Demerits of Public Interest Litigation:

1. The genuine causes and cases of public interest have in fact receded to the background and irresponsible PIL activists all over the country have started to play a major but not a constructive role in the arena of litigation. Of late, many of the PIL activists in the country have found the PIL as a handy tool of harassment since frivolous cases could be filed without investment of heavy court fees as required in private civil litigation and deals could then be negotiated with the victims of stay orders obtained in the so-called PILs.

2. The framers of Indian constitution did not incorporate a strict doctrine of separation of powers but envisaged a system of checks and balances. Policy making and implementation of policy are conventionally regarding as the exclusive domain of the executive and the legislature. Vishaka v State of Rajasthan which was a PIL concerning sexual harassment of women at work place. The court declared that till the legislature enacted a law consistent with the convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women which India was a signatory, the guidelines set out by the court would be enforceable.

3. The flexibility of procedure that is a character of PIL has given rise to another set of problems. It gives an opportunity to opposite parties to ascertain the precise allegation and respond specific issues.

4. The credibility of PIL process is now adversely affected by the criticism that the judiciary is overstepping the boundaries pf its jurisdiction and that it is unable to supervise the effective implementation of its orders. It has also been increasingly felt that PIL is being misused by the people agitating for private grievance in the grab of public interest and seeking publicity rather than espousing public cause.

Landmark Judgements:

1.Peoples Union for Democratic Rights v. Union of India (A.I.R. 1982, S C 1473)-The court now permits Public Interest Litigation or Social Interest Litigation at the instance of “Public spirited citizens” for the enforcement of constitutional & legal rights of any person or group of persons who because of their socially or economically disadvantaged position are unable to approach court for relief. Public interest litigation is a part of the process of participate justice and standing in civil litigation of that pattern must have liberal reception at the judicial door steps.

2. In the Judges Transfer Case – AIR 1982, SC 149: Court held Public Interest Litigation can be filed by any member of public having sufficient interest for public injury arising from violation of legal rights so as to get judicial redress. This is absolutely necessary for maintaining Rule of law and accelerating the balance between law and justice. It is a settled law that when a person approaches the court of equity in exercise of extraordinary jurisdiction, he should approach the court not only with clean hands but with clean mind, heart and with clean objectives.

3. Shiram Food & Fertilizer case AIR (1986) 2 SCC 176 SC: Public Interest Litigation directed the Co. Manufacturing hazardous & lethal chemical and gases posing danger to life and health of workmen & to take all necessary safety measures before re-opening the plant.

4. In the case of M.C Mehta V. Union of India (1988) 1 SCC 471 – In Public Interest Litigation brought against Ganga water pollution so as to prevent any further pollution of Ganga water. Supreme court held that petitioner although not a riparian owner is entitled to move the court for the enforcement of statutory provisions, as he is the person interested in protecting the lives of the people who make use of Ganga water.

Right to Information Act, 2005.

 

Introduction:

The right to Information Act 2005 which came fully into effect on12th October 2005 is one of the most significant legislation enacted by the Parliament in India. It is a major step towards more accountable and transparent government. RTI has been enacted to provide for setting out the practical regime of right to information for citizens to secure access to information under the control of public authorities in order to promote transparency and accountability. The Act will certainly lead to end the culture of governmental secrecy andfulfil its potential as a truly great democracy.

Objective of the Act:

1. To promote transparency and functioning of the government. accountability in the

2. To set up a practical regime for giving citizens access to Information that is under the control of public authorities.

3. To empower the citizens as the law will promote the participation of the citizens in official decisions that directly affect their lives.

4. The effective implementation of RTI Act will build public trust in the government functioning.

5. It will lead to effective and efficient records management technique that is needed to facilitate the provision of information in response to public interest.

What is Right to Information?

Government information is national resource. Neither the particular government of the day nor public officials create information for their own benefits. Government and officials are trustees of this information for the people. The RTI act enables the citizens to obtain access under the law to documents that may otherwise be available only at the discretion of government.

The RTI Act 2005 provides effective access to information for citizens of India, which is under the control of public authorities. This overrides the ―official Secrets Acts and similar laws and rules.

The Act primarily envisages setting out a practical regime of right to information for citizens to secure access to information under the control of public authorities, in order to promote transparency and accountability in the working of every public authority.

Right to Information means the right to information accessible under this Act which is held by or under the control of any public authority and includes the right to: –

(i)             Inspection of work, documents, records.

(ii)           Taking notes, extracts, or certified copies of documents or records.

(iii)         Taking certified samples of material.

(iv)         Obtaining information in the form of diskettes, floppies, tapes, video cassettes or in any other electronic mode or through printouts where such information is shared in a computer or in any other device.

Every information held by or under the control of a public authority is accessible to a citizen, unless information is exempt from disclosure.

What is Accessible under the Law?

Information means any material in any form, including records, documents, memos, e-mail, opinions, advices, press releases, circulars, orders, log books, contacts, reports, papers, samples, models, data material held in any electronic form and information relating to any private body which can be accessed by a public authority under any law for the time being in force.

Features of the RTI Act:

Ø The Act extends to the whole of India except Jammu & Kashmir.

Ø All citizens shall have the right to information, subject to provisions of the Act. The RTI empowers the citizens to ask any question or seek any information from government authorities be it Central, State or Local governments.

Ø It shall apply to Public Authorities which means any authority or body or institution of self-government established or constituted by or under the Constitution; by any law made by the appropriate Government or, any other body owned, controlled or substantially financed directly or indirectly by the appropriate Government, and includes non-government organisation substantially financed by the government.

Ø The Act lays down the machinery for the grant of access to information. The Public Authorities are required to designate Public Information Officer and Assistant Public Information Officer with in the hundred days of enactment to accept the request forms and provide information. The Public Information Officers/Assistant Public Information Officers will be responsible to deal with the requests for information and also to assist persons seeking information.

Ø The Act envisages creation of an independent non-judicial machinery viz, Central Information Commission, State Information Commission. Legal Framework of exercise of powers by the Commission is defined in the Act.

Ø The Act also provides the two- tier Appellate forum. First appeal is to be made to the departmental officer senior to the Public Information Officer. The second appeal is to be made to State Commission.

Ø Fee will be payable by the applicant depending on the nature of information sought.

Ø Time limit has been prescribes for the compliance of information depending upon the information requirements.

Ø Certain categories of information have been exempted from the disclosure under Section 8and 9 of the Act like conduct of International Relations, security of the State, trade and commercial secrets, intelligence agency etc.

Ø Central Information Commission and the State Information Commissions monitor the implementation of the Act and prepare an Annual report to be laid before the Parliament / State legislatures.