Information Commission seeks power to draw contempt proceedings

The Information Commission seeks power to draw contempt of court proceedings against errant party to effectively implement the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
“It’s possible to implement the Right to Information (RTI) Act effectively by empowering the commission to draw contempt of court proceedings against errant party and with other time-befitting and effective systems,” the Commission says in its annual report-2013, according to a news agency.
The existing law allows the commission only to impose fine from to Tk 50 to Tk 5,000 for violation of its rules.
Five years into its formation and the emergence of the Right to Information Act, the Information Commission in its annual report identified 16 challenges for it to implement the act.
Lack of awareness about the Act among people and the culture of procrastination to provide information are among the major challenges to implement the RTI Act, according to the annual report.