Sarbajit Roy
Encyclopedia
Sarbajit Roy is a prominent Freedom of Information
activist and public interest litigation advocate, notable for successfully opposing some of India's largest corporates in the regulatory domain. Sarbajit Roy was a "bad boy" in the early 1980's when he wrote India's first computer viruses.
An engineer from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science
Pilani in 1980, Roy has the triple distinction of having filed the first Right to Information
(RTI) request, the first RTI Appeal and the first RTI Complaint under India's Right to Information Act
. Roy is well known for bringing private electricity utility monopolies under the scope of Freedom of Information hitherto applicable only to Government agencies.
In 2010, a court case Roy initiated triggered the revising of India's Right to Information law, as the Delhi High Court declared the existing regulations as illegal in his case. This has led to protests among RTI activists.
Cable TV set top boxes did not meet the regulatory norms set by the Bureau of Indian Standards
for safety. The story was first published in the Pioneer newspaper, whose editor Chandan Mitra
was then sued for defamation along with Roy, which motion was dismissed. Roy then moved the Supreme Court of India
asking for cancellation of the Conditional Access System scheme for television in India. The Court allowed the few existing CAS installations to continue and granted leave to Roy to intervene again in case the government revived the scheme. The Korean manufacturer then refused to accept the defective STBs causing a huge loss to the importers.
the next year.
Roy. After hearing the parties the regulator held that the Act does not authorise a public authority to deny information even if the information sought is voluminous.
to collect and store biometric IDs of Indian citizens, was fully operational, whereas the Indian Government contended that it never existed and had only a skeletal staff. RTI activists are divided on Roy's intervention in the matter, with some complaining that the CIC breaks its rules for him while others say Roy had "done the impossible". After this decision became public the UIDAI was ejected from their offices in the middle of the night and had to seek new accommodation.
Freedom of information
Freedom of information refers to the protection of the right to freedom of expression with regards to the Internet and information technology . Freedom of information may also concern censorship in an information technology context, i.e...
activist and public interest litigation advocate, notable for successfully opposing some of India's largest corporates in the regulatory domain. Sarbajit Roy was a "bad boy" in the early 1980's when he wrote India's first computer viruses.
An engineer from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science
Birla Institute of Technology and Science
Birla Institute of Technology & Science, is a private university located in Pilani, Rajasthan, India. BITS Pilani is considered one of the most prestigious and selective universities in India...
Pilani in 1980, Roy has the triple distinction of having filed the first Right to Information
Right to Information Act
The Right to Information Act 2005 is an Act of the Parliament of India "to provide for setting out the practical regime of right to information for citizens." The Act applies to all States and Union Territories of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir. Jammu and Kashmir has its own act...
(RTI) request, the first RTI Appeal and the first RTI Complaint under India's Right to Information Act
Right to Information Act
The Right to Information Act 2005 is an Act of the Parliament of India "to provide for setting out the practical regime of right to information for citizens." The Act applies to all States and Union Territories of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir. Jammu and Kashmir has its own act...
. Roy is well known for bringing private electricity utility monopolies under the scope of Freedom of Information hitherto applicable only to Government agencies.
In 2010, a court case Roy initiated triggered the revising of India's Right to Information law, as the Delhi High Court declared the existing regulations as illegal in his case. This has led to protests among RTI activists.
STBs don't meet BIS norms
In December 2003, Sarbajit Roy exposed that 2 million recycled HumaxHumax
Humax is an electronics company. Founded in South Korea in 1989, it manufactures set-top boxes, digital video recorders and other consumer electronics. It is publicly traded on KOSDAQ....
Cable TV set top boxes did not meet the regulatory norms set by the Bureau of Indian Standards
Bureau of Indian Standards
The Bureau of Indian Standards is the national Standards Body of India working under the aegis of Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Government of India. It is established by the Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 1986 which came into effect on 23 December 1986...
for safety. The story was first published in the Pioneer newspaper, whose editor Chandan Mitra
Chandan Mitra
Chandan Mitra is an Indian journalist, presently editor and managing director of The Pioneer newspaper in Delhi, India. He was nominated as a member of the Rajya Sabha during August 2003 to August 2009...
was then sued for defamation along with Roy, which motion was dismissed. Roy then moved the Supreme Court of India
Supreme Court of India
The Supreme Court of India is the highest judicial forum and final court of appeal as established by Part V, Chapter IV of the Constitution of India...
asking for cancellation of the Conditional Access System scheme for television in India. The Court allowed the few existing CAS installations to continue and granted leave to Roy to intervene again in case the government revived the scheme. The Korean manufacturer then refused to accept the defective STBs causing a huge loss to the importers.
BPO Hacking
Sarbajit Roy was the complainant in the infamous Karan Bahree case where a reporter from The Sun newspaper alleged in 2005 that India was an unsafe destination for BPOs as confidential data of UK citizens was being hawked on CDs. In his complaint Roy stated that to the contrary British banks routinely sent their confidential data on their defaulting customers (especially credit card defaulters) to shady call centres located in India operating without proper safeguards or regulation and the Sun story was an attempt to defame legitimate Indian BPOs. Although Roy's complaint was later dismissed in 2007 because he was not the owner of the affected computers, his petition resulted in significant amendments to India's Information Technology ActInformation Technology Act
The Information Technology Act 2000 is an Act of the Indian Parliament notified on October 17, 2000.-History of the Act:...
the next year.
No bar on voluminous requests for information
Although the RTI Act specifically provides that information has to be provided in the form requested unless it would disproportionately divert the resources of the public authority, some departments have been using this provision to deny citizens access to information. This issue was the subject of the first complaint filed with the Central Information Commission (CIC) by SarbajitRoy. After hearing the parties the regulator held that the Act does not authorise a public authority to deny information even if the information sought is voluminous.
Unique Identity Authority of India held to be public body
On 18.November.2009 on a complaint from Roy, India's FOI regulator held the UIDAI to be a public authority liable to disclose its working to the public. Roy had alleged that the UIDAI, a controversial body headed by Nandan NilekaniNandan Nilekani
Nandan Nilekani born is an Indian entrepreneur. He currently serves as the Chairman of the new Unique Identification Authority of India , after a successful career at Infosys Technologies Ltd...
to collect and store biometric IDs of Indian citizens, was fully operational, whereas the Indian Government contended that it never existed and had only a skeletal staff. RTI activists are divided on Roy's intervention in the matter, with some complaining that the CIC breaks its rules for him while others say Roy had "done the impossible". After this decision became public the UIDAI was ejected from their offices in the middle of the night and had to seek new accommodation.
External links
- http://gyanpedia.in/tft/Resources/books/readings/4change.pdf
- http://www.scribd.com/doc/5062532/4change
- http://www.indianexpress.com/storyOld.php?storyId=79937
- http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rti_india/
- http://www.hindustantimes.com/Bloggers-protest-censure/Article1-122729.aspx
- http://www.geocities.ws/india_pil/
- http://www.indianexpress.com/news/desperately-seeking-blogging/9098/
- http://www.geocities.ws/india_pil/stb_pioneer.htm