Information Society Watch

January 18, 2008, Indian Express

The Official Secrets Act (OSA) which was seen to be the last bastion of harbouring corrupt practices by the administration is set to undergo a complete overhaul. The OSA will now be brought in conformity with the Right to Information Act to ensure transparency in its administration. What this means is that under the new rules, prior written permission will be required to prosecute an OSA accused; this was something which was unheard of earlier where mere verbal permission was enough to prosecute the accused. Also, under the new amendments, the OSA will categorise and classify information which is now available in the public arena as against confidential national secrets.

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