RTI Notes

THE RIGHT TO INFORMATION
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
The right to information is a fundamental right under Article 19 (1) of the Indian
Constitution. In 1976, in the Raj Narain vs the State of Uttar Pradesh case, the Supreme Court
ruled that Right to information will be treated as a fundamental right under article 19. The
Supreme Court held that in Indian democracy, people are the masters and they have the right
to know about the working of the government.
Thus the government enacted the Right to Information act in 2005 which provides machinery
for exercising this fundamental right.
INTRODUCTION-
The act is one of the most important acts which empowers ordinary citizens to question the
government and its working. This has been widely used by citizens and media to uncover
corruption, progress in government work, expenses-related information, etc.
The primary goal of the Right to Information Act is to empower citizens, promote openness
and accountability in government operations, combat corruption, and make our democracy
truly function for the people. It goes without saying that an informed citizen is better
equipped to keep a required track on governance instruments and hold the government
responsible to the governed. The Act is a significant step in informing citizens about the
activities of the government.
All constitutional authorities, agencies, owned and controlled, also those organisations which
are substantially financed by the government comes under the purview of the act. The act also
mandates public authorities of union government or state government, to provide timely
response to the citizens’ request for information.
The act also imposes penalties if the authorities delay in responding to the citizen in the
stipulated time.
Objectives of the RTI Act

1. Empower citizens to question the government.
2. The act promotes transparency and accountability in the working of the government.
3. The act also helps in containing corruption in the government and work for the people
in a better way.
4. The act envisages building better-informed citizens who would keep necessary vigil
about the functioning of the government machinery.
Important provisions under the Right to Information Act, 2005
 Section 2(h): Public authorities mean all authorities and bodies under the union
government, state government or local bodies. The civil societies that are substantially
funded, directly or indirectly, by the public funds also fall within the ambit of RTI.
 Section 4 1(b): Government has to maintain and proactively disclose information.
 Section 6: Prescribes a simple procedure for securing information.
 Section 7: Prescribes a time frame for providing information(s) by PIOs.
 Section 8: Only minimum information exempted from disclosure.
 Section 8 (1) mentions exemptions against furnishing information under the RTI Act.
 Section 8 (2) provides for disclosure of information exempted under the Official
Secrets Act, 1923 if the larger public interest is served.
 Section 19: Two-tier mechanism for appeal.
 Section 20: Provides penalties in case of failure to provide information on time,
incorrect, incomplete or misleading or distorted information.
 Section 23: Lower courts are barred from entertaining suits or applications. However,
the writ jurisdiction of the supreme court and high courts under Articles 32 and 226 of
the Constitution remains unaffected.
Significance of the RTI Act

 The RTI Act, 2005 empowers the citizen to question the secrecy and abuse of power
practised in governance.
 It is through the information commissions at the central and state levels that access to
such information is provided.
 RTI information can be regarded as a public good, for it is relevant to the interests of
citizens and is a crucial pillar for the functioning of a transparent and vibrant
democracy.
 The information obtained not only helps in making government accountable but also
useful for other purposes which would serve the overall interests of the society.
 Every year, around six million applications are filed under the RTI Act, making it the
most extensively used sunshine legislation globally.
 These applications seek information on a range of issues, from holding the
government accountable for the delivery of basic rights and entitlements to
questioning the highest offices of the country.
 Using the RTI Act, people have sought information that governments would not like
to reveal as it may expose corruption, human rights violations, and wrongdoings by
the state.
 The access to information about policies, decisions and actions of the government that
affect the lives of citizens is an instrument to ensure accountability.
Recent Amendments
 The RTI amendment Bill 2013 removes political parties from the ambit of the
definition of public authorities and hence from the purview of the RTI Act.
 The draft provision 2017 which provides for closure of case in case of death of
applicant can lead to more attacks on the lives of whistleblowers.
 The proposed RTI Amendment Act 2018 is aimed at giving the Centre the power to
fix the tenures and salaries of state and central information commissioners, which are
statutorily protected under the RTI Act. The move will dilute the autonomy and
independence of CIC.
 The Act proposes to replace the fixed 5-year tenure with as much prescribed by the
government.

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THE RIGHT TO INFORMATION

Objectives of the RTI Act

Significance of the RTI Act

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