Justice Gautam Patel: 'A govt committed to democracy has nothing to fear from dissent'

-The Indian Express

“A government committed to democracy and the Constitution has nothing to fear from information and dissent,” he said. “Any government that discourages dissent and autonomy of ideas is not a liberal government.”

Institutions that are responsible for implementing the Right to Information Act should not be anything but completely autonomous, Bombay High Court judge Justice Gautam Patel said on Tuesday.

“A government committed to democracy and the Constitution has nothing to fear from information and dissent,” he said. “Any government that discourages dissent and autonomy of ideas is not a liberal government.”

Justice Patel’s comments on the RTI Act came a day after Chief Justice of India SA Bobde flagged fears of abuse of the legislation and indicated that the Supreme Court could frame guidelines to review its working.

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