At a time when the government is pushing for transparency, the move to amend the Official Secrets Act (OSA), of British colonial vintage, has been put on the backburner following stiff resistance from security agencies and differences among stakeholders.
A significant chunk in the security establishment feels the act should not be diluted since it contains stringent legal provisions to tackle offences related to espionage, disclosure of secret and classified information and videography of sensitive locations.
To break the logjam, the government has now decided to constitute a committee of secretaries (CoS) from the home, defence and finance ministries, among others, to examine the issue.
In 2010, amidst the rising clamour for transparency and the government facing accusations of withholding information sought under the RTI Act, the home ministry had circulated draft amendments to the OSA to at least a dozen ministries and departments for comment. These included the PMO, DoPT, ministries of finance and defence, the National Security Council Secretariat, and the Departments of Atomic Energy and Space.
While the DoPT wants amendments to the OSA to bring it in conformity with the RTI, the National Technical Research Organisation and other security agencies are opposed to the disclosure of sensitive information.