Right To Information

RTI: An Introduction

The Right to Information (RTI) Act provides each individual with the right to seek and receive information and ideas related to any issue through any media regardless of any boundary. It came into action when the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted in 1948. The bill for the Right to Information Act was amended in 2005. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966, allows everyone to have freedom of expression and the freedom to exchange various information and ideas. For the practical implementation of this idea, a system for Indian citizens was created to allow information and idea exchange as a matter of right. The Right to Information Act, 2005 (RTI Act 2005) was enacted by the Indian Parliament.

Right to Information: Objectives of the Right to Information (RTI) Act 2005

The RTI Act was implemented with the following objectives:

• Allow the citizens of the country to question the working government.
• Promote transparency and answerability of the working government.
• Check corruption prevailing in the government to serve the citizens better.
• Make citizens well-informed about the functioning of the government system.

Right to Information: Kinds of Information that can be accessed through RTI Act,

Any sort of information that the government can disclose in the parliament is allowed to be questioned by the citizens. In other words, the citizens of India have the right to any information. They can question the government authorities at any time through the RTI Act.

However, there are some limitations to the type of information that can be accessed. Information that can hamper the sovereignty and integrity of our country is exempted from the scope of the Right to Information Act. Sensitive information related to our country’s internal security or information related to India’s association with other countries vital for maintaining healthy relations with each other, Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), and any cabinet discussions is free from the RTI Act 2005.

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Right to Information: Importance of Right to Information Act

The Right to Information is a fundamental right of the citizens. As a responsible citizen, one must be aware of the RTI Act 2005. In this section, a few points emphasizing its importance are discussed: 

• The Right to Information Act allows citizens to be empowered to question the confidentiality and ill-practices prevailing in the state of government in power.
• Authorities at the central and state levels help citizens to fetch the information using the RTI Act.
• The information subject to RTI is treated as public property as the information coming under the scope of the RTI Act is subjected to the interests of Indian citizens. Such information is also fundamental for the transparency of democracy and successful administration.
• The information subject to the RTI Act is crucial for the accountability of the government in power.  It is also useful for other reasons, which cater to the interests of the society for a better future.
• RTI enables the common citizens of our country to question even the highest and most powerful authority.
• The RTI Act allows people to fetch information that governments and officials would otherwise not reveal. 
• The RTI Act helps in exposing corruption prevailing in the government systems, bringing the focus on any violation of human rights, and highlighting malpractices of government authorities at union or state levels.
• Through the RTI Act, citizens gain access to information on decision-making, policies, and activities of the government that have direct impacts on the citizens.
• The Supreme Court has declared RTI as a fundamental right referring to Articles 19 and 21 of the Indian Constitution, which ensures that citizens have the freedom of speech and expression and freedom to live.

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Right to Information: Amendments of the RTI Act 2005

A few important provisions under the RTI Act 2005 are discussed in this section. We will dig into a short brief of each amenity.

• Section 2(h): This section of the RTI Act defines ‘Public Authorities’. All working organisations/bodies/authorities falling under the jurisdiction of union, state or local bodies are defined as public authorities. Additionally, civil organisations that are fundamentally funded (may be directly or indirectly) by citizens’ funds also come under the RTI Act 2005.
• Section 4 1(b): This section mentions that the working government should have updated information available which they are liable to share when needed.
• Section 6: This section mentions a simple procedure for the citizens to know about fetching information under the RTI Act.
• Section 7: This section specifies a time period for the government to provide information to the citizens.
• Section 8: This section specifies how much minimum information should be disclosed when someone files an RTI.
• Section 8 (1): This section contains the list of all the exemptions for providing information under the RTI Act.
• Section 8 (2): This section explains the exemptions under the Official Secrets Act, 1923, serving the public interest.
• Section 19: This section defines a two-tier procedure for appealing an RTI.
• Section 20: This section explains the punishment or penalties for failing to provide information within the stipulated time or providing misleading, insufficient, deceptive or incorrect information.
• Section 23: This section specifies the functioning of lower courts in case of an RTI application.

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Right to Information: Limitations of RTI

• Sometimes the RTI can be misused or abused to waste the valuable time of the public authorities by asking for irrelevant information that has no public interest.
• Some people may use RTI as a mode of attaining popularity by scandalising unimportant information.
• To attain publicity by filing RTI.
• Sometimes the public authorities are simply harassed and forced by misusing RTI.
• The large population of our country, lack of awareness, and illiteracy are challenges in exercising RTI in India.
• Sometimes RTI is misused as a tool for redressing grievances, which is not a primary objective in the RTI Act 2005.

Conclusion

The Right to Information Act, also known as the RTI Act, is a basic right enshrined in Article 19 (1)(a) of the Indian Constitution.