The Right to Information (RTI) is an act of the
Parliament of India
The Parliament of India (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. It is a bicameralism, bicameral legislature composed of the president of India and two houses: the R ...
which sets out the rules and procedures regarding citizens' right to information. It replaced the former
Freedom of Information Act, 2002. Under the provisions of RTI Act, any citizen of India may request information from a "public authority" (a body of Government or "instrumentality of State") which is required to reply expeditiously or within thirty days. In case of matter involving a petitioner's life and liberty, the information has to be provided within 48 hours. The Act also requires every public authority to computerize their records for wide dissemination and to proactively publish certain categories of information so that the citizens need minimum recourse to request for information formally.
The RTI Bill was passed by Parliament of India on 15 June 2005 and came into force with effect from 12 October 2005. Every day on an average, over 4800 RTI applications are filed. In the first ten years of the commencement of the act, over 17,500,000 applications had been filed.
Although Right to Information is not included as a
Fundamental Right
Fundamental rights are a group of rights that have been recognized by a high degree of protection from encroachment. These rights are specifically identified in a constitution, or have been found under due process of law. The United Nations' Sustai ...
in the
Constitution of India
The Constitution of India (IAST: ) is the supreme law of India. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental ri ...
, it protects the fundamental rights to Freedom of Expression and Speech under Article 19(1)(a) and Right to Life and Personal Liberty under Article 21 guaranteed by the Constitution. The authorities under RTI Act 2005 are called public authorities. The Public Information Officer (PIO) or the First Appellate Authority in the public authorities perform quasi judicial function of deciding on the application and appeal respectively. This act was enacted in order to consolidate the fundamental right in the Indian constitution 'freedom of speech'. Since RTI is implicit in the Right to Freedom of Speech and Expression under Article 19 of the Indian Constitution, it is an implied fundamental right.
Information disclosure in India had traditionally been restricted by the
Official Secrets Act 1923 and various other special laws, which the new RTI Act overrides. Right to Information codifies a fundamental right of the citizens of India. RTI has proven to be very useful, but is counteracted by the
Whistle Blowers Protection Act, 2011
Whistle Blowers Protection Act, 2011 (renamed as Whistle Blowers Protection Act, 2014 by the second schedule of the Repealing and Amending Act, 2015) is an Act of the Parliament of India which provides a mechanism to investigate alleged corru ...
.
The Right to Information (Amendment) Bill, 2019, seeks to amend Sections 13, 16, and 27 of the RTI Act. Section 13 of the original Act: It sets the term of the central Chief Information Commissioner and Information Commissioners at five years (or until the age of 65, whichever is earlier).
Finally in Ashwanee K. Singh's case on 20 September 2020, it is stabilised that right to information is a fundamental right.
Scope
The Act extends to the whole of India. It covers all the constitutional authorities, including executive, legislature and judiciary; any institution or body established or constituted by an act of Parliament or a state legislature. It is also defined in the Act that bodies or authorities established or constituted by order or notification of appropriate government including bodies "owned, controlled or substantially financed" by government, or non-Government organizations "substantially financed, directly or indirectly by funds".
Private bodies
Private bodies are not within the act's In a decision of ''Sarbjit Roy vs
Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission'', the
Central Information Commission
The Central Information Commission is a statutory body, set up under the Right to Information Act in 2005 under the Government of India to act upon complaints from those individuals who have not been able to submit information requests to a Cent ...
also reaffirmed that privatised public utility companies fall within the purview of RTI. As of 2014, private institutions and NGOs receiving over 95% of their infrastructure funds from the government come under the Act.
Political parties
The
Central Information Commission
The Central Information Commission is a statutory body, set up under the Right to Information Act in 2005 under the Government of India to act upon complaints from those individuals who have not been able to submit information requests to a Cent ...
(CIC) held that the political parties are public authorities and are answerable to citizens under the RTI Act. The CIC said that eight national parties -
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...
,
BJP
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Modi ...
,
NCP
NCP may refer to:
Science and medicine
* Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia (a temporary name for COVID-19), an outbreak that was officially identified in late 2019.
* HIV-1 nucleocapsid protein 7 (NCp7), a target of zinc finger inhibitors
* Nucleosome ...
,
CPI(M)
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)/CPIM/CPM) is a Marxist–Leninist communist political party in India. It is the largest communist party of India in terms of membership and electoral seats and one of the na ...
,
CPI
A consumer price index (CPI) is a price index, the price of a weighted average market basket of consumer goods and services purchased by households. Changes in measured CPI track changes in prices over time.
Overview
A CPI is a statistic ...
,
BSP,
NPP and
AITC - has been substantially funded indirectly by the Central Government and have the character of public authorities under the RTI Act as they perform public functions.
But in August 2013 the government introduced a Right To Information (Amendment) Bill which would remove political parties from the scope of the law. Currently no parties are under the RTI Act and a case has been filed for bringing all political parties under it.
Amendment
The Right to Information Act 2019 passed on July 25, 2019 modified the terms and conditions of service of the CIC and Information Commissioners at the centre and in states. It had been criticized as watering down the independence of the information commissions.
Supreme Court judgement
Supreme Court of India on 13 November 2019, upheld the decision of the Delhi High Court bringing the office of Chief Justice of India under the purview of the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
Governance and process
The Right to information in India is governed by two major bodies:
* Central Information Commission (CIC) – Chief Information commissioner who heads all the central departments and ministries- with their own public Information officers (PIO)s. CICs are directly under the President of India.
* State Information Commissions – State Public Information Officers or SPIOs head over all the state department and ministries. The SPIO office is directly under the corresponding State Governor.
State and Central Information Commissions are independent bodies and Central Information Commission has no jurisdiction over the State Information Commission.
Fees
A citizen who desires to seek some information from a public authority is required to send, along with the application (a
Postal order
A postal order or postal note is a type of money order usually intended for sending money through the mail. It is purchased at a post office and is payable at another post office to the named recipient. A fee for the service, known as poundage, ...
or DD (
Demand draft
A demand draft (DD) is a negotiable instrument similar to a bill of exchange. A bank issues a demand draft to a client (drawer), directing another bank (drawee) or one of its own branches to pay a certain sum to the specified party (payee).
A de ...
) or a bankers cheque) or a court stamp payable to the Accounts Officer of the public authority as fee prescribed for seeking information. If the person is from a
disadvantaged
The "disadvantaged" is a generic term for individuals or groups of people who:
* Face special problems such as physical or mental disability
* Lack money or economic supportKingdom of Nepal: Economic and Social Inclusion of the Disadvantaged Poo ...
community, he/she need not pay. The applicant may also be required to pay further fee towards the cost of providing the information, details of which shall be intimated to the applicant by the PIO (Public Information Officer) as prescribed by the RTI ACT.
Digital right to information systems
A digital portal has been set up, ''RTI Portal'', a gateway to the citizens for quick search of information on the details of first Appellate Authorities, PIOs etc. amongst others, besides access to RTI related information disclosures published on the web by various Public Authorities under the government of India as well as the State Governments. It is an initiative taken by
Department of Personnel and Training
The Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions is a ministry of the Government of India in personnel matters specially issues concerning recruitment, training, career development, staff welfare as well as the post-retirement dispensati ...
,
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions
The Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions is a ministry of the Government of India in personnel matters specially issues concerning recruitment, training, career development, staff welfare as well as the post-retirement dispensati ...
.
Controversies
The Right to information in India has been mired with controversies ranging from their use in political battles, asking for educational degrees of political rivals, or cases of blatant refusals to provide information on high-profile projects to allegations of misuse by civil society.
The backlash against RTI by the state hampered the citizen's right to know.
Attacks on RTI activists and protection suggestions
Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative
The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) is an independent, non-partisan and nonprofit international non-governmental organisation which works towards the practical realisation of human rights in the countries of the Commonwealth.
CH ...
(CHRI) data points to over 310 cases across India where people were either attacked, physically or mentally harassed or had their property damaged because of the information they sought under RTI. The data throws up over 50 alleged murders and two suicides that were directly linked with RTI applications filed. R.T.I. Act 2005 applies to both central as well as state governments. It also covers the acts and functionaries of the public authorities.
There is a consensus felt that there is a need to amend the RTI Act to provide for the protection of
those seeking information under the Act. The
Asian Centre for Human Rights
The Asian Centre for Human Rights (ACHR) is a NGO (non-governmental organization) dedicated to the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms in Asia. It is headquartered in New Delhi, India. The organization seeks to provid ...
recommends that a separate chapter, "Protection of those seeking information under the (RTI) Act", be inserted into the Act.
Protection measures suggested include:
* Mandatory, immediate registration of complaints of threats or attacks against RTI activists on the
First Information Report
__NOTOC__
A first information report (FIR) is a document prepared by police organisations in Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asian countries including Myanmar, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan when they receive information about the commissio ...
and placing such FIRs before the magistrate or judge of the area within 24 hours for issuance of directions for protection of those under threats and their family members, and periodic review of such protection measures
* Conducting inquiry into threats or attacks by a police officer not below the rank of
Deputy Superintendent of Police/Assistant Commissioner of Police to be concluded within 90 days and we also use RTI and get its benefit.
Intellectual property rights
Many civil society members have recently alleged the subversion of the right to information Act by the invocation of Intellectual Property rights argument by the government agencies from time to time.
Most notable are:
* The Right to Information denied by RBI on Demonetization citing Intellectual Property Laws.
* The Right to Information Denied by Uttar Pradesh Irrigation Department after more than 8 months of a wait on under construction Gomti Riverfront Development Project. A group of researchers requested for environment Impact and Project Report on the project which is flagged for negative impacts, tax money wastage by environmental scientists and research reports.
Banned people from filing RTI
Gujarat State Information Commission
Gujarat State Information Commission is an autonomous and statutory body constituted as per The Right to Information Act, 2005 by the state government of Gujarat through a notification in official Gazette. The commission will have one State C ...
banned 10 people from filing RTI queries, citing that these people were "harassing government officials" by filing multiple queries. There are no provisions under which Commissions can ban people from filing RTIs. That's why the ban was criticized as “wholly unconstitutional”.
Debates
Rejection of RTIs
Scholars argue that the Right to Information Act's original intent to make government transparent and accountable is faltering as RTI requests are rejected and the bureaucratic systems are bogged down by millions of requests.
Many RTIs are rejected because the bureaucratic requirements (including the technocratic language used) of filing are too onerous and legalistic for ordinary citizens. Sixty percent of the RTI appeals made to Information Commissioners in Delhi are rejected for a variety of reasons, including that appeals are not typed or not written in English, or lack an index of the papers attached or a list of date.
[Sharma, Aradhana. “State Transparency after the Neoliberal Turn: The Politics, Limits, and Paradoxes of India’s Right to Information Law.” ''PoLAR: Political & Legal Anthropology Review'', vol. 36, no. 2, Nov. 2013, pp. 308–325.] This bureaucratic barrier, worse for those without access to higher education or information, makes the right to information inaccessible. Many citizens have to seek out NGOs, RTI activists, or lawyers, to file their RTIs.
[Aniket Aga, and Chitrangada Choudhury. A Dappled Sun: Bureaucratic Encounters in the Working of the Right to Information Act in India. Vol. 38, no. 3, 2019, pp. 540–556.]
The Indian Express
''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split betw ...
reported on August 10, 2022 that the Gujarat Information Commission (GIC) has blacklisted and barred over nine applicants from filing applications under the RTI Act in the past two years.
Benefits
Many activists view the Right to Information Act as a final liberation from British colonialism; they describe the RTI law as “a tool for empowering ordinary citizens and changing the culture of governance by making it transparent, less corrupt, participatory, and accountable".
They also note that RTI requests provide strategy and substance for activists on a broad range of social issues, including "land and environmental rights, social security benefits, the working of financial institutions, political party financing reform, civic infrastructure, and even public-private partnerships”.
Exempted organisations
As per section 24 of the Act, intelligence and security organisations, both central and state, are exempted from the RTI Act except in cases of corruption or human rights violation. Such central organisations are listed in schedule 2 of the Act. The schedule has been amended four times, in September 2005, March 2008, October 2008 and May 2021.
G.S.R. 319(E) dated 4 May 2021
/ref>
# Intelligence Bureau
# Research and Analysis Wing
The Research and Analysis Wing (abbreviated R&AW; hi, ) is the foreign intelligence agency of India. The agency's primary function is gathering foreign intelligence, counter-terrorism, counter-proliferation, advising Indian policymakers, an ...
including its technical wing, Aviation Research Centre
The Aviation Research Centre (ARC) is India's imagery intelligence organisation, a part of the Directorate General of Security, run by the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW). It started functioning in November 1962, in the wake of the Sino-In ...
# Directorate of Revenue Intelligence
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) is an Indian intelligence agency. It is India's apex anti-smuggling intelligence, investigations and operations agency.
The Directorate is run by officers from the Central Board of Indirect Taxes a ...
# Central Economic Intelligence Bureau
The Central Economic Intelligence Bureau (CEIB) is an Indian intelligence agency responsible for gathering information and monitoring the economic and financial sectors for economic offences and warfare.
Formation
The Central Economic Intel ...
# Directorate of Enforcement
# Narcotics Control Bureau
The Narcotics Control Bureau ( NCB) is an Indian central law enforcement and intelligence agency under the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. The agency is tasked with combating drug trafficking and the use of illegal substance ...
# Special Frontier Force
The Special Frontier Force (SFF) is an Indian special operations unit created on 14 November 1962. It mainly comprised Tibetan refugees living in India. Now it has increased in size and scope of operations. Its primary goal originally was to ...
# Border Security Force
The Border Security Force (BSF) is India's border guarding organisation on its border with Pakistan and Bangladesh. It is one of the seven Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) of India, and was raised in the wake of the 1965 war on 1 December 1 ...
# Central Reserve Police Force
The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is a federal police organisation in India under the authority of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) of the Government of India. It is one among the Central Armed Police Forces. The CRPF's primary role li ...
# Indo-Tibetan Border Police
The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) is a border patrol organization of India deployed along its borders with Tibet Autonomous Region. It is one of the seven Central Armed Police Forces, established in 1962 in the aftermath of the Sino-Indian ...
# Central Industrial Security Force
The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) is a federal police organisation in India under the Ministry of Home Affairs. It is one among the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF). CISF provides security to over 356 industrial units (including ...
# National Security Guard
The National Security Guard (NSG), commonly known as Black Cats, is a counter-terrorism unit of India under the Ministry of Home Affairs. It was founded on 16 October 1984, following Operation Blue Star, for combating terrorist activities and p ...
# Assam Rifles
The Assam Rifles (AR) is a central paramilitary force responsible for border security, counter-insurgency, and maintaining law and order in Northeast India. It guards the Indo-Myanmar border. The Assam rifles is the oldest paramilitary force ...
# Sashastra Seema Bal
Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB; ) is a border guarding force of India deployed along its borders with Nepal and Bhutan. It is one of the seven Central Armed Police Forces under the administrative control of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
The fo ...
# Directorate General of Income-tax (Investigation)
# National Technical Research Organisation
The National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO) is a technical intelligence agency under the National Security Advisor in the Prime Minister's Office, India. It was set up in 2004.
It has the same "norms of conduct" as the Intelligenc ...
# Financial Intelligence Unit, India
# Special Protection Group
The Special Protection Group (SPG) is an agency of the Government of India whose sole responsibility is protecting the Prime Minister of India and in some cases, his or her family. It was formed in 1988 by an Act of the Parliament of India. The ...
# Defence Research and Development Organisation
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) (IAST: ''Raksā Anūsandhān Evam Vikās Sangaṭhan'') is the premier agency under the Department of Defence Research and Development in Ministry of Defence of the Government of India ...
# Border Roads Organisation
The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) is a road construction executive force in India that provides support to and is now a part of the Indian Armed Forces. BRO develops and maintains road networks in India's border areas and friendly neighboring ...
# National Security Council Secretariat (secretariat of the National Security Council
A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a na ...
, in the Cabinet Secretariat)
See also
* Attacks on RTI activists in India
Many Right to Information Act (RTI) activists, including policemen, have been harassed and even murdered for seeking information to "promote transparency and accountability in the working of every public authority" in India. Many face assaults on ...
*
Notes
References
External links
Right To Information Ministry Websites and their RTI links Search
*
ONLINE RTI
*
CIC
- The Central Information Commission is empowered to decide complaints and appeals arising from use of the Right to Information Act, 2005.
*
CIC Online
- New website of the Central Information Commission for filing complaints and appeals arising from use of the Right to Information Act, 2005.
*
DoPT
- The Department of Personnel and Training, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances, and Pensions, is charged with being the nodal agency for the Right to Information Act, 2005. It has the powers to make rules regarding appeals, fees, etc.
*
Right to Information Act Portal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Right To Information Act
Freedom of information legislation in India
2005 in law
2005 in India
Politics of India
Acts of the Parliament of India 2005
Right to Information in India
Privacy in India