31st May 2024, Kathmandu
A law student from Nepal Law Campus has filed a Right to Information (#RTI) application with the Department of Transport Management, raising concerns about the department’s practice of displaying citizenship numbers in written and trial test results.
Bivek Chaudhary, the applicant, is seeking clarification on the legal basis and laws that justify the public disclosure of such sensitive personal information.
Law Student Challenges Transport Dept on Privacy
This RTI application follows an earlier attention notice issued jointly by Chaudhary and fellow student Bikash Yadav on January 30th, which failed to prompt any action from the department.
“Disclosing citizens’ personal identification numbers openly raises serious privacy concerns. We first issued a notice drawing the department’s attention to this issue a fortnight ago, but they have not taken it seriously,” stated Chaudhary. “Through the RTI application, we now demand to know the specific grounds on which they find it appropriate to violate individuals’ privacy in this manner.”
The RTI application invokes the 15-day response period mandated by law. If the Transport Department fails to provide a satisfactory response justifying their actions within this timeline, Chaudhary has declared his intent to escalate the matter to the National Information Commission.
Privacy advocates have rallied behind the students’ efforts, citing the potential misuse of citizens’ personal data and emphasizing the need for government bodies to exercise the utmost caution in handling such sensitive information.
Legal experts suggest that the department’s practice may violate constitutional rights to privacy.
So far, the Transport Department has remained tightlipped on the issue. Their response to the RTI query could set a significant precedent for the handling of personal data by government agencies across the nation.
This case has reignited the debate around citizen privacy and the need to strike a balance between transparency and data protection.
For more Information: Law Student Challenges Transport Dept on Privacy
