Though the Official secrets act is an outcome British legacy, the relevance of the act still exists today. Analyse (150 Words)
Refer - The Indian Express
Enrich the answer from other sources, if the question demands.
IAS Parliament 5 years
KEY POINTS
Official Secrets act(OSA), British legacy
· The Indian Official Secrets Act, 1904 was enacted during the time of Lord Curzon, Viceroy of India from 1899 to 1905.
· The Indian Official Secrets Act (1923) was extended to all matters of secrecy and confidentiality in governance in the country. It states clearly that actions which involve helping an enemy state against India are strongly condemned.
· The secrecy law broadly deals with two aspects — spying or espionage, which is dealt with in Section 3 of the Act, and disclosure of other secret information of the government, which is dealt with in Section 5.
Significance of the OSA
· Help prevent leakge of secret information to enemy state.
· Streamlining administration at all levels
· Curbing unofficial spying.
Criticisms of OSA
· Direct conflict with Right to Information act 2005, as OSA can be used to override RTI.
· Potential breaches of national security, is often misinterpreted.
· The Section comes in handy to book journalists when they publicise information that may cause embarrassment to the government or the armed forces.
Rahul 5 years
Pls review
IAS Parliament 5 years
Good answer. Keep Writing.
