At a time when the government is pushing for transparency, the move to amend the Official Secrets Act, 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 sector 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 Commi-ttee of Secretaries from the home, defence and finance ministries, among others, to examine the issue.
In 2010, amidst the rising clamour for transparency and government accused of withholding information sought under the RTI Act, the home ministry had circulated draft amendments to OSA to at least a dozen ministries and departments. These included the PMO, DoPT, ministries of finance and defence, the National Security Council Secretariat, and the Depart-ments 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 Organi-sation and other security agencies are opposed to the disclosure of sensitive information.
“More discussion is needed with all the stakeholders before we proceed,” a top official said, explaining the move to set up a CoS.
The home ministry’s move to amend the OSA follows various court rulings on what defines 'secret'. The OSA is also being tweaked to bring about conformity with the Information Technology Act.