Rank and file

Institutions are only as resilient as the people who run them, especially if the institution happens to be the new kid on the block. The Central Information Commission is very much a work in progress, its credibility 8212; in fact the credibility of India8217;s right to information regime 8212; hinges crucially on the men and women who comprise it. It is reassuring, therefore, that the man who currently heads it, Chief Information Commission Wajahat Habibullah, has chosen to read the word 8220;information8221; in the Right to Information Act in a maximalist rather than minimalist manner.

Habibullah had shortly after his appointment as chief information commissioner seen the new information law as ushering in a 8220;transparency revolution8221;. Now, in a step forward, he has just reiterated to this newspaper that file notings come under the definition of 8220;information8221;. Which is 8212; we may add 8212; the only sensible position to take. File notings plot the decision-making trajectory of governance and are intrinsic to the process of gathering information on a particular decision. The transparency it engenders discourages arbitrary and interested action, even as it protects the honest bureaucrat. Let us hope then that with this the last word on the sorry wrangling over definitions has been pronounced, and the country can move on.

But Habibullah8217;s test has yet to arrive. If the Central Information Commission is to become a vital part of India8217;s democratic system of checks and balances, it would need to fiercely protect its autonomy. Every scam 8212; even routine ones like the fudging of muster rolls in Thane that the Express has just broken 8212; is anchored by extremely powerful interests. Letting sunshine into this murky space would require a leadership that is prepared to guard the gate and push the envelope. As the RTI Act goes on stream, Habibullah must know that the eyes of the nation are on him, and on the institution he heads.