He upheld the complaint of New Delhi-based social activist Mr. Saurabh Sharma that the MEA’s proactive disclosures did not fully meet the obligations under Section 4 of the RTI Act, 2005. The respondents of behalf of the MEA were The Foreign Secretary, Secretary (ER) & First Appellate Authority and Jt. Secretary (RSP) & CPO.

The Section 4 puts obligation on every Public Authority to voluntarily make a number of disclosures. These include the particulars of its organizations, functions and duties; the powers and duties of its officers and employees; procedure followed in the decision making process, including channels of supervision and accountability; rules, regulations, instructions, manuals and records, held by it or under its control or used by its employees for discharging its functions; a statement of the categories of documents that are held by it or under its control; a directory of its officers and employees; the monthly remuneration received by each of its officers and employees, including of compensation as provided in its regulations; the budget allocated to each of its agency, indicating the particulars of all plans, proposed expenditure and reports on disbursement made; the names and designations and other particulars of the Public Information Officers.

The Information Commissioner directed –“The main secretariat, attached offices, subordinate offices, High Commissions, Missions, autonomous organizations and all non-administrative and administrative units and offices of the Ministry, shall fulfill their obligations under section (4) of the RTI Act by publishing the manuals mandated by Section 4 (1) (b). The manuals must be available as hardcopies in the said offices and on their respective websites. No acronym/abbreviation should be used”. The report must reflect item-wise position over the last two years.

The order further notes that the aforesaid information should be made available on the website of the departments before January 15, 2012. Each department shall send a report of compliance of the above directions to the CIC by January 25, 2012. The Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs (i.e. Foreign Secretary) shall submit a consolidated compliance report at a given e-mail ID.

The Nalanda University is an autonomous body under the Ministry of External Affairs. Needless to say the order deals a major blow to the castle of non-transparency built by Nalanda Mentor Group and Nalanda University. It is covered under the RTI Act, 2005 though it refuses to divulge the details of its Public Information Officer. It has no RTI link on its official website www.nalandauniversity.org. Nor does the MEA indicate anything regarding Nalanda University, in sharp contrast to Indian Council of Cultural Relations, on its website.

The complainant Saurabh Sharma apparently has no clue about the Nalanda University controversy. Yet his feat is a major accomplishment in ensuring transparency and accountability in the institution that has tied itself in knots.

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