The Bureau of Narcotics Control (NCB), which operates under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, has refused to disclose to RTI activist Anil Galgali the various drug action carried out by the NCB under the Right to Information Act in the last three years.
Anil Galgali, an RTI activist, had sought information from the Bureau of Narcotics Control on November 11, 2021 in two separate applications.Information on goods seized in last 3 years, type of drugs, total price, total crime and number of accused should be given. In the second application, Galgali had asked for detailed information about the drugs disposed of.
Both the applications of Anil Galgali were denied on the basis of Section 24 of the Right to Information Act, 2005. Anil Galgali expressed surprise that NCB officials themselves provide so much information about narcotics action through various means and make various claims. So why do they avoid giving information to the citizens in the Right to Information Act? Asking such a question, Galgali said that if Mumbai Police provides such information easily, then it is wrong for the NCB to evade it. Anil Galgali has sent a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah demanding clarification on the matter and uploading of such action on the website. Because citizens have a right to know the details of confiscated goods and their disposal.
What section 24 says?
The NCB has refused to provide information on the basis of Section 24. According to this clause Nothing contained in this Act shall apply to the intelligence and security organisations specified in the Second Schedule, being organisations established by the Central Government or any information furnished by such organisations to that Government: Provided that the information pertaining to the allegations of corruption and human rights violations shall not be excluded under this sub‑section: Provided further that in the case of information sought for is in respect of allegations of violation of human rights, the information shall only be provided after the approval of the Central Information Commission, and notwithstanding anything contained in Section 7, such information shall be provided within forty‑five days from the date of the receipt of request.
