RTI important events Timeline

1975

Supreme Court ruling in the case of State of UP vs

Raj Narain talks about peoples right to know

1982

Supreme Court ruling in the case S.P. Gupta & others

vs The President of India & others talks about
openness in government

1985

Affidavit filed by NGO Kalpavriksh in Supreme Court

regarding the publics right to know

1986

Supreme Court in the case of Bombay Environmental

Action Group v. Pune Cantonment Board gives right
to inspect local authority documents to concerned
citizens and groups

1990

V.P.Singh government proposes to amend the Official

Secrets Act and increase access to information

1993

Draft RTI law proposed by the Consumer Education

and Research Council, Ahmedabad

1994

First MKSS led jan sunwai held in Rajasthan

1995

First mass meeting organised in Beawar, Rajasthan

by MKSS activists; Demand for a Right to Information
articulated

1996

Second mass dharna organised by MKSS at Beawar,

Rajasthan, demanding a Right to Information;
Formation of NCPRI; Conference of Chief Secretaries
talks about a Right to Information Act

1996

Workshop on Right to Information held at Lal Bahadur

Shastri National Academy of Administration
(LBSNAA), Mussoorie

1996

Press Council drafts RTI National Bill with NCPRI and

circulated it to PM, all parliament members, CMs and
legislators.

1996

Tamil Nadu passes its legislation (April, 1996)

1997

Working Group on Right to Information and

Promotion of Open and Transparent Government
formed under H.D. Shourie

1997

Goa (29th October, 1997) enacts RTI

legislations

1998

Ram Jethmalani, then Minister for Urban Affairs and

Employment, passes executive orders providing
access to government documents in his Ministry to
the general public, which is shot down by the PM

1998

Madhya Pradesh passes its legislation (30 th

April, 1998)

2000

Karnataka (10th December 2000), Maharashtra (18th

July, 2000) and Rajasthan (11th May, 2000) enact RTI
legislations

2001

Delhi enacts RTI legislation (16th May, 2001)

2002

Freedom of Information bill passed by Parliament

which was never notified

2002

Assam enacts RTI legislation (7 th May, 2002)

2003

Jammu and Kashmir enacts RTI legislations (18 th

December, 2003)

2004

UPA government sworn in; National Advisory Council

formed; Right to Information Bill introduced in
Parliament , fulfilling a promise made under the
National Common Minimum Programme. FOI Act
repealed.

2005

Right to Information Act 2005 is passed by Parliament

in May 2005 and notified , comes into force on 12
October 2005

*The time line has been prepared by Prashant Sharma, as part

of his PhD research on the Right to Information, at the London
School of Economics and Political Science.