RTI ACT 2005

The freedom of information, 2002, has been replaced by the Right to information Act, 2005. The
freedom of information act, 2002 was made to give freedom of every citizen to provide information
under the control of public authorities, based on public interest for to promote openness, transparency
and accountability in administration and other related matters. However, the National Advisory council
has suggested several important changes in the law to gather more access to information.

Some Important Definitions:

1.Information [Section 2(f)]:

Information means any material in any form, including records, documents, memos, e-mails,
opinions, advices, press releases, circulars, orders, logbooks, contracts, reports, papers, samples,
models, data material held in any electronic form and information relating to any private body which
can be accessed by a public authority under any other law for the time being in force.

2. Record [Section 2(i)]:

Record includes—

(a) Any document, manuscript and file;

(b) Any microfilm, microfiche and facsimile copy of a document;
(c) Any reproduction of image or images embodied in such microfilm (Whether enlarged or not)
(d) Any other material produced by a computer or any other device.

3. Right to Information [Section 2(j)]:

Right to Information means the right to information accessible under this Act which is held by or under
the control of any public authority and includes the right to —

(i) Inspection of work, documents, records;

(ii) Taking notes, extracts or certified copies of documents or records;
(iii) Taking certified samples of material;
(iv) Obtaining information in the form of diskettes, floppies, tapes, video cassettes or in any other
electronic mode or through printouts where such information is stored in a computer or in any other
device.

4. Public Authority [Section 2(h)]:

Public Authority means any authority or body or institution of self- government established or
constituted—

(a) by or under the Constitution;

(b) by any other law made by Parliament;
(c) by any other law made by State Legislature;
(d) by notification issued or order made by the appropriate Government,
and includes any—
(i) body owned, controlled or substantially financed;
(ii) non-Government organisation substantially financed, directly or indirectly by funds provided by the
appropriate Government;

Exemption from disclosure of information [Section 8]:

Like any other legislation, this Act also provides for exemptions to the Government from disclosure of
information regarding information – which would cause a breach of privilege of Parliament or the State
Legislature / harm the competitive position of a third party / endanger the life or physical safety of any
person / impede the process of investigation or apprehension or prosecution of offenders / weaken
confidence of the Foreign Government / Disclose the Records of deliberations of the Council of
Ministers, Secretaries and other Officers / relates to personal information which has no relationship to
any public activity or interest, or which would cause unwarranted invasion of the privacy of the
individual unless the Central Public Information Officer or the State Public Information Officer or the
appellate authority, as the case may be, is satisfied that the larger public interest justifies the disclosure
of such information / involve infringement of copyright.

IMPACT: To hide or avoid giving the required information demanded, the Officers of the concerned
Public Authorities may resort to take advantage of these Exemptions. Hence it may be necessary for the
‘Information Seeker’ to be clear in his mind about the exact interpretation of the provisions and
exemptions so that he may not be taken for a ride by the officials and can claim his Right to information
rightfully.

Administration of the Act [Section 12]:

A body to be known as the ‘Central Information Commission’ is constituted to exercise the powers
conferred on, and to perform the functions assigned to, it under this Act. The Central Information
Commission shall consist of— The Chief Information Commissioner and such number of Central
Information Commissioners as may be deemed necessary.

Every State Government shall constitute a body to be known as the _____________ (name of the State)
Information Commission to exercise the powers conferred on, and to perform the functions assigned to,
it under this Act. The State Information Commission shall consist of— The State Chief Information
Commissioner and such number of State Information Commissioners as may be deemed necessary.

The Central Information Commission or State Information Commission shall, while inquiring into any
matter under this section, have the same powers as are vested in a civil court while trying a suit under
the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908.

Every public authority shall designate as many officers as the Central Public Information Officers or
State Public Information Officers, as the case may be, in all administrative units or offices under it as
may be necessary to provide information to persons requesting for the information under this Act. Every
public authority shall designate an officer at each sub-divisional level or other sub-district level as a
Central Assistant Public Information Officer or a State Assistant Public Information Officer, as the case
may be, to receive the applications for information or appeals under this Act for forwarding the same
forthwith to the Central Public Information Officer or the State Public Information Officer or senior
officer specified or the Central Information Commission or the State Information Commission, as the
case may be.

Timeframes within which the desired information should be made available by the concerned
Public Authority:

A person who desires to obtain any information shall make a request in writing or through electronic
means in English or Hindi or in the official language of the area in which the application is being made,
accompanying such fee as may be prescribed, to—

(a) the Central Public Information Officer or State Public Information Officer, as the case may be, of
the concerned public authority;

(b) the Central Assistant Public Information Officer or State Assistant Public Information Officer, as
the case may be, specifying the particulars of the information sought by him or her.

An applicant making request for information shall not be required to give any reason for requesting the
information or any other personal details except those that may be necessary for contacting him.

On receipt of a request the Central Public Information Officer or State Public Information Officer shall
as expeditiously as possible, and in any case within Thirty Days of the receipt of the request, either
provide the information on payment of such fee as may be prescribed or reject the request for a reason.
If the Central Public Information Officer or State Public Information Officer fails to give decision on
the request for information within the said period it shall be deemed to have refused the request. The
person making request for the information shall be provided the information free of charge where a
public authority fails to comply with the time limits specified.

IMPACT: Making requests for information through electronic means may not be easy practically, since
not all the Public Authority offices are fully computerized and may not have computer savvy staff. The
urban class who may resort to make request through electronic means may get discouraged.
Explanations like, ‘Computer error’, ‘Server down’ may be resorted to, for avoiding furnishing of
information.

Penalties for not making available the desired information:

If without any reasonable cause, the concerned Officer refuses to receive an application for information
or has not furnished information within the time specified or malafidely denied the request for
information or knowingly given incorrect, incomplete or misleading information or destroyed
information which was the subject of the request or obstructed in any manner in furnishing the
information, a penalty of two hundred and fifty rupees each day till application is received or
information is furnished, so however, the total amount of such penalty shall not exceed twenty-five
thousand rupees shall be imposed and / or disciplinary action against the concerned Officer may be
taken. Provided that the Central Public Information Officer or the State Public Information Officer, as
the case may be, shall be given a reasonable opportunity of being heard before any penalty is imposed
or disciplinary action is taken against him.

Urgency of the Act:

The citizens of a modern democratic country must have the right to get comprehensive information
about all the policies and prescriptions formuled by the government for the economic and social welfare
of the country. To make a strong healthy democratic base in an economy a well informed and
enlightened citizens are necessary.Therefore, the right to information is a natural rights for the citizens
in a democratic framework. In order to make proper transparency and accountability in the government
administration department, it is urgent required for all the citizen to have the right to information. Along
with India, most of the other countries are adopting this particular rights for their citizens.

Constitutional Acceptancy:
Under section article 19 (1) (a), the Supreme Court of India has held that rights to freedom of speech
and expression includes the rights to information. According to this the right to information is implicit
in the right to freedom of speech. All the citizens must have the right to get correct information in the
every sphere of their life. The apex court of India has ensured this right in the case of state of Uttar
Pradesh” Vs Raj Narain (1974) 4 SCC 428. It is impossible for any democratic country to stand without
the right to information for its citizen.

History behind the Rights:

The United Nation Organization (UN proclaimed a Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948.
This was followed by the international convenant on civil and Political Rights. According to the article
19 of the convenant declares that – “Every one has the’ rights of freedom of opinion and expression the
rights includes freedom to hold opinion without interference; and to seek, and receive and import
information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers”.

In India the formation of law regarding rights to information got momentum in 1990s. The Law
Commission of India in its 179th report first time emphasized upon the accountability and usefulness of
this law in India. Hence, the law was ultimately passed and enacted as Freedom of Information Act,
2002, but never applied in reality. Therefore, as per as the recommendations made by the National
Advisory Council the law has been ultimately changed and enacted as the Right to Information Act,
2005 by the parliament and got the president’s assent on 15.06.2005.

Scope of the Rights:

The Right to information has been extended to all over India except, Jammu and Kashmir. Al the
administrative department of both the central and the state governments are under the jurisdiction of
this right. For only Jammu and Kashmir, the government enacted the Jammu and Kashmir Rights to
Information Act, 2004.

For the successful operation of Right to Information in India, following provisions are necessary,
such as:
(a) Section 4 (1)- Obligations of Public authorities,
(b) Section 5 (2)- Designating PIOs,
(c) Section 12 & 13- Constitution of central information commissions.
 (f) Section 15 & 16- Constitution of State information commissions,
(e) Section 24- Exclude several intelligence and security organizations,
(f) Section 27 & 28- Power to form rules and regulations by the central and state governments.

Important objectives:
The primary aim of this right is to promote transparency and accountability in the functioning of all the
public authorities.

The main characteristics are highlighted below:

(i) Confirm rights to information to all the citizens.
(ii) Information includes report, samples, records, documents, e-mail, press releases, orders, circulars,
etc.
(iii) Few information are exempted.
(iv) Information must be in the form of certified copy or in electronic mode.
(v) All public authorities must publish information in writing format.
(vi) Public authorities are of both the central and the state governments
(vii) The authorities should deliver the information within a stipulated time period.
(viii) Few restrictions are maintained regarding the information of third party,
(ix) The Act comprises with appeals and complaints.
(x) The Act operates in the form of central information commission and state information commission
for each state,
(xi) The Act attracts penalties for non-compliance with certain provisions.
The central government is only liable to remove all the difficulties and problems related with this act.