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3. H I ST OR Y
The earliest reference to right to information is in 1776, from
Sweden, where a convention granting right to information to all
its citizens was passed. After the United Nations was formed, the
U.N. passed a resolution in 1946 recognizing right to information
as a fundamental right. In 1960, UNESCO adopted a Declaration
of Freedom of Information, and Sweden became the first country
in the world to enact a provision for access to government
information. It took India another 45 years to legislate this right.
At least 56 countries in the world have enacted their own right
to information in their statutes.
The following Act of Parliament received the assent of the President on
the 15th June, 2005, and is hereby published for general information:—
THE RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT, 2005 No. 22 of 2005 [15th June,
2005.]
AND WHEREAS revelation of information in actual practice is likely
to conflict with other public interests including efficient operations of
the Governments, optimum use of limited fiscal resources and the
preservation of confidentiality of sensitive information;
1. (1) This Act may be called the Right to Information Act, 2005.
(2) It extends to the whole of India except the State of Jammu and
Kashmir.
(3) The provisions of sub-section (1) of section 4, sub-sections (1)
and (2) of section 5, sections 12, 13, 15,16, 24, 27 and 28 shall come
into force at once, and the remaining provisions of this Act shall come
into force on the one hundred and twentieth day of its enactment.

4. The Right to Information Act (RTI) is an Act of the Parliament of India "to
provide for setting out the practical regime of right to information for
citizens" and replaces the erstwhile Freedom of Information Act, 2002.
The Act applies to all States and Union Territories of India except the
State of Jammu and Kashmir. Jammu and Kashmir has its own act called
Jammu & Kashmir Right to Information Act, 2009. Under the provisions of
the Act, any citizen 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. The Act also requires every
public authority to computerize their records for wide dissemination and
to pro-actively publish certain categories of information so that the
citizens need minimum recourse to request for information formally. This
law was passed by Parliament on 15 June 2005 and came fully into force
on 12 October 2005. Information disclosure in India was hitherto
restricted by the Official Secrets Act 1923 and various other special
laws, which the new RTI Act relaxes.
INTRODUCTION

5. The Indian Constitution has an impressive array of basic and inalienable
rights termed as fundamental rights contained in Chapter III. These
include the Right to Equal Protection of the Laws and the Right to
Equality before the Law (Article 14), the Right to Freedom Speech and
Expression [Article 19(1) (a)] and the Right to Life "Personal Liberty
(Article 21). These are backed by the Right Constitutional Remedies in
Article 32, i.e., the Right to approach the Supreme Court, the highest court
in the land, or the High Court in case of infringement of any of
fundamental rights. The State is not only under an obligation to respect
the Fundamental Rights of the citizens, but also equally under an
obligation to ensure conditions under which the Right can be
meaningfully and effectively enjoyed by all. However, the Constitution
does not specifically mention about the right to information or even right
to freedom of the press.
Constitutional Aspect of
the Right to Information

6. • Universal access to information held by the public authorities- all citizens
have access to information, pertaining to any period, in any form, in official
language
• Right to information includes inspection of records , works and taking
certified samples of material
• 'Information' broadly defined-includes: records, e-mails, samples and models
• Applies to all public authorities ,NGOs, private bodies subject to provisions
• Voluntary disclosure of maximum (17 categories of) information on nation-
wide network
• Public Information Officers (“PIO”) to provide information
PIO has the duty to assist requesters and transfer the request to proper public
authority, if necessary
• No prescribed form
• Reasonable fees: No fees for persons below poverty line
SALIENT FEATURES

7. RTI unlocks the door to government files where all the information
pertaining to your applications for passport, license, pension, etc. is kept
and processed. It also allows you inspect government
offices, properties, works, documents, registers, and obtain samples of
material. You can ask for the date wise work done on any of your matter
pending with a department. In other words, RTI helps you go deep into the
government's lair and pull out exactly what you need. But why would you
do that? Let us give you a broader view of how the RTI can help. You face
a variety of problems with the government
departments, police, educational institutions, passport
offices, PWD, municipality, etc.
•You have some pending work with a department and they are not doing
it.
•They are expecting or demanding a bribe.
•You submitted a grievance but they are simply not acting on it.
•You made a complaint against any wrongdoing, but without any result.
A decision was taken that affected you but you were not given the
reasons
How is RTI useful

8. Under the Act, all authorities covered must appoint their Public Information
Officer (PIO). Any person may submit a request to the PIO for information in
writing. It is the PIO's obligation to provide information to citizens of India who
request information under the Act. If the request pertains to another public
authority (in whole or part), it is the PIO's responsibility to transfer/forward the
concerned portions of the request to a PIO of the other within 5 working days.
In addition, every public authority is required to designate Assistant Public
Information Officers (APIOs) to receive RTI requests and appeals for
forwarding to the PIOs of their public authority. The applicant is not required to
disclose any information or reasons other than his name and contact particulars
to seek the information.
The Central Information Commission (CIC) acts upon complaints from those
individuals who have not been able to submit information requests to a Central
Public Information Officer or State Public Information Officer due to either the
officer not having been appointed, or because the respective Central Assistant
Public Information Officer or State Assistant Public Information Officer refused
to receive the application for information
PROCESS

9. Country Bangladesh Pakistan India
Constitutional
Protection
Protected (by
interpreting)
Protected Protected (by interpreting)
Legislation RTI Act, 2009 FOI Ordinance, 2002 RTI, 2005
Information about
Private bodies
Private organisation
running on foreign or
government funding/
exchequer; organisation
undertaking public
functions under contract withal
government or public
organization
No provisions
Body owned, controlled or
substantially financed and
NGO funded directly or
indirectly by the government;
private bodies regulated by
public authorities
Proactive
Disclosure
Too limited. Allows
only four kinds of
information
voluntarily
Too limited. Provides only five
kinds of information voluntarily
Provides for 17 kinds of
information voluntarily
Public Interest Disclosure
No provision
No public interest
override. Government
can refuse to disclose in public
interest
Exempted information. can be
disclosed if public interest
outweighs harm to
protected interests
Fee
Exceptions
Government in
consultation with ICs
may exempt from paying fee
Fee as it may be
prescribed but with aim
of providing information
promptly and at the
lowest reasonable cost
Exempted for those below
poverty line. Also free if the
public authority fails to comply
with time limits
Urgent Request Relating to life and
death, arrest and
release from jail.
Within 24 hours
No Provision
Relating to life and liberty of a
person. Within 48 hours
RTI Legislations. A Comparison

10. Date:…….
To,
The Appellate Officer
(Name of the Public Authority)
(Address of the Public Authority)
An appeal under Section 19 of the Right to Information Act, 2005
Ref: [PIO/Appellate Officers’ Decision Reference No. & Date, received on
……. (Date) / Date of Deemed Refusal]
Dear Sir / Madam:
[Please describe the details about Appeal and Grounds why Appeal is preferred:
Date & Description of the Application:
Name and Address of the PIO:
Details of Decision of the PIO:
Grounds of Appeal:
Decision Requested:
Sincerely,
(Appellant’s signature)
Appellant’s Name:
Appellant’s Address:
Appellant’s Phone Number / e-Mail Address (optional):
Place:
Date :
A Model Letter of Appeal

11. The Government of India has prescribed the following fees in respect of
information requested from Government of India departments
To submit your request Rs. 10-00
To receive information:
For each page created / copied
(in A-4 or A-3 size paper)
Rs. 2-00
If the paper is in larger size Actual charge / cost price
Diskette / floppy Rs. 50
Samples / Models Actual charge / cost price
Printed matter Price fixed / Rs. 2 for page of photocopy
For Inspection of records :
First hour Free
Each subsequent hour Rs. 5-00
FEES STRUCTURE

12. The Act itself is self-restrictive in nature. The Act does not make the Right to
Information an absolute right but imposes restriction on this right. Section 8(1) of the Actdeals with
exemption from disclosure of information. The section says that
“Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give anycitizen, –
(a) 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;
(b) 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 ;
(c) information disclosure of which would cause a breach of privilege of Parliament or
the State Legislature ;
(d) 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 ;
(e) information available to a person is his fiduciary relationship, unless the competent authority is
satisfied that the larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information ;
(f) information received in confidence from foreign Government ;
(g) information, 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 ;
(h) information which would impede the process of investigation or apprehension or
prosecution of offenders ;
Restrictions Imposed by the Act

13. To make the government accountable, we need information regarding government
decisions and how exactly it functions.
The Right to Information Act empowers us to do just that. It gives us the right to
obtain information from the government about matters that affect us in thousands
of ways. Used innovatively, such information could lead to exposure of corruption
and inaction, and make the government responsive and accountable.
The government spends so much money on various works in your area. You
should ask for the details of all the works carried out by the municipal body in
your area. How much money was spent? On what works was it spent? Similar
information was asked by people all over the country since October 2005. When
the information was physically verified, it turned out that a number of works
existed only on paper. Won’t you like to hold the government similarly
accountable in your area, city and state? So it is only possible with rti act
Hold The Government
Accountable & Challenges

14. The Right to Information Act is a social legislation enacted for the benefit of the
society at large. It is a special law having some overriding effect on general laws.
Though the Act contains restrictive provisions and above all there are reasonable
restrictions under the Constitution, we hope the Act will be exploited for the benefit
of the society.
The Official Secrets Act continued to govern the country for years. There were
recommendations for amendment, even repeal of the Act. With the advent of
the Right to Information Act, it has been repealed indirectly. Section 22 of the Right
to Information Act gives overriding effect on anything inconsistent contained in any
other law for the time being in force or in contradictory provisions of the Official
Secrets Act.
The Right to Information Act, 2005 is a complete code. The public has a
fundamental
right to know what the government has done or is been doing in its
name. The Statute is enacted to make the state affairs more fair,
transparent and obviously to check corruption.
CONCLUSION

15. QUESTION PLEASE…….