RTI : USE AND ABUSE

This is to certify that the presentation -"RTI : USE AND ABUSE" was completed under my guidance and supervision by Amit Kumar Garg Aneesh Kaushal Anil Choudhary FIRST YEAR BATCH : A4 of MNIT JAIPUR within stipulated time.

DR. NUPUR

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RTI : USE AND ABUSE

We extend our deep thanks to DR. NUPUR TONDON , our Language Lab teacher who guided us to the successful completion of this presentation . We take this opportunity to express our deep sense of gratitude for her invaluable guidance , constant encouragement which has sustained our efforts at all stages of this project.

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INTODUCTION
WHAT ALL IT INCLUDES FEATURES OF RTI PROCEDURE TIME LIMIT

IMPORTANCE OF RTI ACT

POWEER OF EVERY CITIZEN SOME SUCCESS STORIES
IIM ADMISSION CRITERIA BANNING OF BLACK FILMS ON CARS RTI HELPS TO GET PENSION DUES GET DEAD SONS RECORD

RTI ON WHEELS HOW IT CAN TRANSFORM INDIA

RTI FAILURES
DISADVANTAGES OF RTI SOME FAILURE CASE EXCLUSIONS

WORDS BY DR. APJ ABDUL KALAM

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RTI : USE AND ABUSE

What is RTI? RTI Act is Right to Information Act that was passed by the Indian Parliament in the year 2005 that gave all citizens their right to question any government authority about its working and the body involved. The information here includes all the related records, memos, emails, bills, log books, contracts, etc.

What all it includes

All ministries such as textile, foreign etc. The Prime Minister The President The Vice President All ministers

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Easy and simple procedure No lengthy documentation required Completely confidential Second appeal is also entertained

PROCEDURE
An RTI application can be made on plain paper in writing or through E-mail addressed to the concerned PIO, or in his absence to the 'Central Public Information Officer'. It must clearly state the name & complete postal address of the applicant along with the nature of information sought. A nominal fee of Rs.10 (Ten Rupees) is charged per RTI application, payable either in

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cash,through DD or cheque or postal order to the Accounts Officer of concerned department.

4. Application may be made either in Hindi, English or any regional language of the area and delivered either via post or personally at the office of the concerned PIO.

The Time Limit

The Central Public Information Officer or State Public Information Officer within 30 days either provide information or reject with reasons and the period within which appeal can be preferred and particulars of the appellate authority. If the information sought for concerns the life and liberty of a person, the same shall be provided within (48) hours of the receipt of request.

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With the help of RTI act people gets lots of specific information, which before the RTI act government offices often skip or rather not consider it as their liabilities to pass on to the general public. It shows that government employees work up to the mark only when something imposes on them forcibly otherwise they know how to pass on buck of responsibilities on to others shoulders and unnecessarily harass the common people. The information pass on to desired person with specific information and true by nature.

Ask any questions from the Government or seek any information Take copies of any government documents Inspect any government documents

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Inspect any Government works Take samples of materials of any Government work.

1.RTI Impact: Misuse of CMs Relief Fund exposed in Mumbai 2.Karnataka: Grant used by MLAs without submitting bills 3.IIMs admission criteria disclosed 4.25 RTI brought ban on dark film in motor cars 5.Life convict uses RTI to prove innocence in Andhra Pradesh 6.Jharkhand: Ranchi Passport office assured to work fast

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IIMs Admission Criteria:

Vaishnavi Kasturi a visually-impaired student, in 2007 was denied a seat in the Indian Institute of Management in Bangalore, one of the countrys premier management institutes despite her impressive score at the entrance examination. Ms. Kasturi wanted to know why, and wondered whether it was because of her physical disability. She filed an RTI application to request the institute to disclose their selection process. Although she failed to gain admission to the institute, her RTI application meant that IIM had to make its admission criteria public. It emerged that the entrance exam, the Common Admission Test, actually mattered little compared to Class 10 and 12 results.

BANNING OF BLACK FILMS ON CARS

On the basis of the replies received under the provisions of theRight to Information Act, 2005, the supreme court has decided that "it is averred that these authoritiesare of the unanimous opinion that black films should bebanned. Black filmed glasses help in commission of crime aswell as hiding

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the criminals even during vehicle checks atNaka points." Use of films or any other material upon the windscreen or the side windows is impermissible in law w.e.f 4th May, 2012. The hon'ble supreme court stated "we prohibit the use of black films of any VLT percentage or any other material upon the safety glasses, windscreens (front and rear) and side glasses of all vehicles throughout the country." The court passed the order on a plea seeking complete ban on use of dark films on car windows, including the vehicles used by VVIPs, alleging that many crimes in cities were committed by people using such cars with tinted windows. The petitioner, Avishek Goenka, had contended that he had 25 RTI query replies from various police stations to back his claim that many crimes, including sexual assault on women, were committed by offenders who used cars with tinted glasses to evade public gaze and conceal their identity. Another adverse aspect of use of black films is that even if they reflect tolerable VLT in the day time, still in the night it would clearly violate the prescribed VLT limit and would

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result in poor visibility, which again would be impermissible.

RTI Act helps pensioners get their dues

Payment of interest on arrears due on account of recomputation of pension and other retirmentl benefits as a result of implementation of Supreme court's Judgment dated 25-07-1997 in CA No 4174/88of 1995 and other tagged SLPs:Indian Railway Pensioners Association Bhavnagar Division of Western Railway, over the years, submitted hundreds of representations to GM Western Railway & DRM Bhavnager to get the payment in the above case. 137 specific cases of non payment were filed in the pension Adalat held on15-12-06 but nothing happened. When on 16-03-07, a request under RTI ACT 2005 was submitted to CPIO Western Railway for disclosing the reasons for not implementing the judgment of the Apex court, things started moving. Sh.S.R. Ghosal Dy. General Manager Western Railway vide his letter No. G-542/2/2007/ 136 dated 03-05-2007 addressed to undersigned with reference to request under RTI Act, has accepted the liability for making payment and according to the information disclosed by him all the Divisions over Western Railway have been advised to take immediate steps for making payment. Pensioner can also use RTI Act and get the entire working sheet regarding calculation of pension. This can be verified to point out any

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error in calculation of pension and gratuity. Dhirendra Krishna

70-yr-old uses RTI to get dead sons records

A 70-year-old woman from Haryana has used the Right To Information Act to gain access to files regarding the pension and other benefits of her son, a Delhi Traffic Police constable who was killed in a road accident over five years ago. A 70-year-old woman from Haryana has used the Right To Information Act to gain access to files regarding the pension and other benefits of her son, a Delhi Traffic Police constable who was killed in a road accident over five years ago. Laxmi Devi of Bhiwani district in Haryana had appealed to the Central Information Commission (CIC) for gaining access to file notings made by authorities on her sons dossier regarding the payment of terminal benefits totalling about Rs 4 lakh and his family pension. The CICs ruling giving her access comes amidst a controversy over a government proposal to amend the RTI Act to prevent the public from viewing most file notings.

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Laxmi was left penniless after her son Anoop Singhs death on January 29, 2001 as her daughter-in-law Mamta, who was drawing the family pension, re-married in August 2005, her petition said.

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How can it transform India?

This Act empowers people's right to know about the government and governance. Because of the RTI Act, an individual citizen becomes the monitor of the government.

The Right to Information is derived from our Fundamental Right of Expression under Article 19 of the Constitution of India.

If we do not have information on how our government and public institutions function, we cannot express any informed opinion on it.

This has been clearly stated by various Supreme Court judgments since 1977. This Act reaches to every stratum of the society.

Thanks to the RTI Act, the State's response to non-entities and general people goes up considerably.

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Disadvantages of RTI
A lot of cases exist where people have misused RTI. This is not 100% efficient process. Although time limit is specified in the act, but majority of cases fail to get completed within that limit. The nominal fees may not be too high, but the actual cost involved in the case is very high, that cant be afforded by the below poverty line(BPL) people. This has increased criminal cases in the country as people who file these cases are often threatened by the people in power. It has become a tool to obstruct national integrity and destroy harmony among citizens. A stop to the national development has been put as a large number of officials are required to complete all the procedure.

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SOME FAILURE CASES OF RTI ACT

The submission of wrong data for finance minister Amit Mitra's budget Disposal of cases in the WBIC "is very low despite huge pendency" . Bengal takes more than six months between the date of filing and the first hearing, while Arunachal takes only a month and Bihar two months. PIO and FAA denied information to an elderly person about an affidavit claimed to have been filed by him.

FAILURE CASES
KOLKATA:
The submission of wrong data for finance minister AmitMitra's budget isn't the only embarrassment for the state information commission. Studies by some people's organizations suggests that the mess at WBIC has been getting worse over seven long years.

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The panel, headed by Sujit Sarkar, who was appointed state chief information commissioner on December 1, 2010, is one of the worstrun in the country, says a study by anti-corruption crusader Arvind Kejriwal.

Kejriwal's Public Cause Research Foundation (PCRF) says that disposal of cases in the WBIC "is very low despite huge pendency". According to the RTI Act, failure to provide information within 30 days (40, in special cases ) is considered a refusal.

2. Bengal's performance is the worst

Another study by citizen's group Indian People's Right for Information and Democracy (IPRID) shows that among the six states in the eastern region, Bengal's performance is the worst. Bengal takes more than six months between the date of filing and the first hearing, while Arunachal takes only a month and Bihar two months.

3. PIO and FAA denied information to an elderly person

The CIC said this was a blatant case where without any reasonable cause, both the PIO and FAA denied information to an elderly person about an affidavit claimed to have been filed by him. This is the 119th in a series of important judgements given by former Central

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Information Commissioner Shailesh Gandhi that can be used or quoted in an RTI application.

EXCLUSIONS
Information, disclosure of which would prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security, strategic, scientific or economic interests of the State, relation with foreign State or lead to incitement of an offence Information which has been expressly forbidden to be published by any court of law or tribunal or the disclosure of which may constitute contempt of court; Information, the disclosure of which would cause a breach of privilege of Parliament or the State Legislature; Information including commercial confidence, trade secrets or intellectual property, the disclosure of which would harm the competitive position of a third party, unless the competent authority is satisfied that larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information;

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Information available to a person in his fiduciary relationship, unless the competent authority is satisfied that the larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information;

Information received in confidence from foreign Government; Information, the disclosure of which would endanger the life or physical safety of any person or identify the source of information or assistance given in confidence for law enforcement or security purposes; Information which would impede the process of investigation or apprehension or prosecution of offenders; Cabinet papers including records of deliberations of the Council of Ministers, Secretaries and other officers; Information which relates to personal information the disclosure of which has no relationship to any public activity or interest, or which would cause unwarranted invasion of the privacy of the individual; Notwithstanding any of the exemptions listed above, a public authority may allow access to information, if public interest in disclosure outweighs the harm to the protected interests.

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Guiding principles for disclosure

Information which cannot be denied to Parliament or Legislature of a State shall not be denied to any person All exemptions subject to public interest over rideaccess must be allowed if public interest outweighs harm to the protected interests to be decided by PIO or appellate body Partial Disclosure Entire file/record is not exempt even if it contains exempt information. Non-exempt portions may be released after severing exempt parts. Time bound disclosure All information about any event, occurrence or matter must be given after 20 years Except information relating to sovereignty, security, integrity, scientific and economic interest of the State information that may lead to commission of an offence Cabinet papers and records of deliberations of Council of Ministers , Secretaries and other officers

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information that may lead to breach of privileges of Parliament and State Legislatures.

Failure of RTI Act in India

In the clutches of corrupt public servants mafia
In the courts of law , every statement to be valid must be supported by evidences. That too, the statements of public servants / government officials & their reports in government records are considered as sacrosanct , the ultimate gospel truth by courts of law. The corruption has spread its tentacles far & wide in the public service. The bribe booty is shared by lower to higher officials. If an official is complained against , his higher official conducts a formal investigation & reports in the record that lower official is not guilty.

MAJOR CHALLENGES BEFORE RTI

Speedy dispensation of Information Lack of awareness among rural masses Incompetent government officials Have Judiciary also covered Make Private Sector accountable

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WORDS BY Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Inaugural Address at the National Convention on RTI 13-10-2006: New Delhi

The largest democratic nation, India has survived all vicissitudes, turbulences of all kinds over the last half century and more. In that context, the bringing into being of the RTI has been an important milestone. The Act that came into being last year assures every citizen the right to know what the citizen should, and throws open the system of governance to total transparency and therefore inescapable accountability.

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NEWSPAPERS MAGZINES INTERNET

WEBSITES www.google.com www.wikipedia.com www.rti.gov www.yahoo.com

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