Secrets Act to be made a little less secretive

These amendments are being finalised after consultations of an Inter Ministerial Group (IMG) set up by the Home Ministry which includes members from the Law Ministry, the Intelligence Bureau, Central Bureau of Investigation and Delhi Police.

The group is understood to have unanimously decided against repealing the OSA and instead making significant amendments, including to Section 5 of the Act which contains sweeping generalities on what may comprise an “official secret.”

The final amendments will soon be sent by the Home Ministry to the Law Ministry after which they will be routed for Cabinet approval. The thrust of the proposed amendments include:

• Sources said a majority of the recommendations of the H D Shourie Committee of 1997 on definitions to be included in Section 5 of the OSA will be included in the amendments. The Shourie Committee had criticized the section for its “catch-all” provisions and absence of a clear definition of official secrets.

• From the earlier vague instruction of the Home Department giving an “authorization” for charge-sheeting an OSA accused (objected to by the Supreme Court), an amendment is proposed wherein “prior sanction” will be needed for which an “application of mind” and, thereby, a scrutiny of investigation will be required.

• The amendments will take into account the availability of confidential/secret documents and information now in electronic format thanks to the use of computers and internet.

Several procedural and technical amendments are also proposed, especially in view of the difficulties in investigations highlighted by officials of the CBI and Delhi Police. For instance, OSA provisions will be made compatible with amendments made over the years to the Criminal Procedure Code.

The Second Administrative Reforms Commission, headed by M Veerappa Moily, had made a strong case for a repeal of the OSA and it being “substituted by a chapter in the National Security Act, containing provisions relating to official secrets.”