The Right to Information Act was passed in 2005 in India to promote transparency, accountability, and better governance. Some key provisions include granting citizens the right to request information from public authorities, specifying timelines for responses, and exempting certain types of information like cabinet papers and personal information. The Act has uncovered several corruption scandals since its enactment and empowered citizens to expose issues like housing frauds and anomalies in public distribution systems. However, greater awareness efforts are still needed for citizens to fully utilize their rights under the Act.

1. RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT
(2005)
Article 19(1)(a) – Freedom of
speech and Expression

2. LAW IN INDIA
•Objective – transparency, accountability, better governance.
•The National Campaign for People’s Right to Information (NCPRI) was
founded in 1996. Its founding members included social activists, journalists,
lawyers, professionals, retired civil servants and academics.
•As a first step, the NCPRI and the Press Council of India formulated an initial
draft of a Right to Information (RTI) law. This draft, after extensive
discussions, was sent to the Government of India in 1996. The Government
finally introduced the Freedom of Information Bill in Parliament, in 2002.
•The bill was passed after over a hundred amendments introduced by the
government to accommodate the recommendations of the Parliamentary
Committee and the Group of Ministers. Most important, the jurisdiction of the
Bill was extended to cover the whole of India. The RTI Act then came into
effect all over India, from 13 October 2005.

3. • Introduced in TN, Goa, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Delhi,
Assam, P, J&K, Haryana - 2002
• Central RTI act was introduced all over India – 2005. Applicable all
over India
• Guaranteed under article 19(1)(a) of the Indian constitution. –
Freedom of speech and expression.
• It has taken India 82 years to transition from an opaque
system of governance
• The recent enactment of the Right to Information Act 2005 marks a
significant shift for Indian democracy, for the greater the access of
citizens to information, the greater will be the responsiveness of
government to community needs.
• The Act and its rules define a format for requisitioning
information, a time period within which information must
be provided, a method of giving the information, some
charges for applying and some exemptions of information
which will not be given.

4. What is Information?
Information means any material including:

5. What does RTI mean?
• It means the right to access information under this
Act which is held by or under the control of any
public authority and includes the right to –
• Inspection of work, documents, records;
• Taking notes, extracts or certified copies of
documents or records;
• Taking certified samples of material;
• 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 any device.
Sec. 2 ( j )

6. What is a public authority?
• 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;
Section 2(h)

7. EXCLUSIONS
• Info cannot be given if :- It affects the
sovereignty and integrity of India Sec 8 (1) (a).
• It has been expressly forbidden to be
published by any Court of law Sec. 8 (1) (b).
• It causes breach of privilege of the
Parliament or State Legislature Sec. 8 (1) (c).
• Info is held in commercial confidence, trade
secrets or intellectual property. Sec. 8 (1) (d).
• If info is held in fiduciary relationship,
unless the competent authority is satisfied
that the larger public interest warrants the
disclosure of such info. Sec. 8 (1) (e).
• If info is received in confidence from foreign
Govt. Sec. 8 (1) (f).

8. • If the info endangers the life or physical safety of any
person. Sec. 8 (1) (g).If it impedes the process the
investigation or apprehension or prosecution of
offenders. Sec. 8 (1) (h).Cabinet papers including records of
deliberations of the council of Ministers, Secretaries and
other officers till decisions on it are taken. Sec. 8 (1) (i).
• Personal info, the disclosure of which has no relationship
to any public activity or interest, or which would cause
unwarranted invasion of privacy of the individual …
unless larger public interest justifies the disclosure of
such info. Sec. 8 (1) (j). Only info which can be denied to the
Parliament or Legislature. Sec. 8 (1) (k).
• If it infringes ‘copyright’. Sec. 9 Reasonable severance of
information which is exempt from disclosure. Sec. 10 (1)
and Sec .10(2) Third party information – e.g. Tax returns
(unless public interest outweighs interest of the third
party ) Sec. 11 (1)

9. • Examples of State Govt. Depts.
Municipal Corporation / Municipal Council
Collector Police Dept. Departments existing in
Mantralaya Depts. controlled / formed by the
State Govt. etc.
• Examples of Central Govt. Depts.
Railways Airlines (Government run) / Airports
etc. Passport Offices Banks (Private and Public)
Departments controlled / formed by the Central
Govt. etc.

10. Agencies excluded from RTI Act.
• Intelligence Bureau
• RAW
• DRI
• Central Economic NSG
• Intelligence Bureau ;
• Assam Rifles
• Directorate of Enforcement Special Service Bureau
• Narcotics Control Bureau
• CID (Special Branch) – Aviation Research Centre
• Andaman Nicobar Special Frontier Force
• Crime Branch Dadra & BSF
• Nagar Haveli CRPF
• Sp. Branch Lakshadweep ITBP
• Police. CISF

11. Political parties under RTI: Congress rejects CIC
order • Congress on Tuesday rejected
the Central Information
Commission order on bringing
political parties under Right to
Information ambit, contending
that such “adventurist”
approach would harm
democratic institutions.
•“It is not acceptable. We totally
disagree with it. Such adventurist
approach will create a lot of
harm and damage to democratic
institutions,” AICC General
Secretary Janardan Dwivedi told
reporters in New Delhi.
•The Central Information Commission
(CIC) on Monday held that the parties
are public authorities and answerable
to citizens under RTI Act.
Source : THE HINDU , Delhi
June 4, 2013

12. LAW in the U.S.A
• The United States enacted a Freedom of Information Act
(FOIA) in 1966 and introduced amendments in 1974 and
1986. This Act is applicable to government agencies.
• The Act begins with the obligation on the government
agencies to publish (in the Federal Register) information about
the organization of the agency; functions; procedure; the
persons/officials from whom information can be collected; the
availability of forms; the scope of information available; the
substantive rules and statements of general policy or
interpretations of general applicability adopted by the agency
and amendments thereof.
• There is a duty on the agencies to provide certain documents
for public inspection and copying.

13. • Time period for compliance with a request is ten (10) days from receipt
of the request. Decision will be notified immediately to the requestor
with reasons.
• The first appeal lies to the head of the agency and have to be
determined within twenty (20) days from the date of receipt of the
appeal.
• Agencies must submit an annual report to the Speaker of the House of
Representatives and President of the Senate, detailing number of
refusals with reasons thereof; the number of appeals and their results with
reasons where disclosure confirmed; the names and titles of person/s
responsible for denial of request and the instances of participation for each
person; report of disciplinary action taken against an officer or employee
primarily responsible for improperly withholding records; copy of every
rule and fees schedule made by the agency; fees collected and any other
efforts to administer the Act fully.
• The Attorney general has to make an annual report on the cases
arising under the Act, the matter of each case, the deposition of such case,
the cost, fees, and penalties assessed under the concerned sections.

14. LAW in U.K
• After a Draft Bill of 1999 and a following consultative process
through the year 1999, the UK Government developed a Draft
of the Freedom of Information Bill 2000.
• Request has to be made in writing.
• the request has to be complied in not more than twenty
(20)working days from the day of the receipt of the request.
• Further, the Act leaves the formulation of the fees structure to
the executive. The scope of waiver of fees in certain
circumstances is provided.
• Most notably, the Act contains twenty-five (25) Sections
detailing kinds of information exempt from public
accessibility. This is its biggest drawback.

15. CASE STUDIES ON RTI ACT and its
benefits in INDIA
• ADARSH SOCIETY SCAM
The applications filed by RTI activists like Yogacharya
Anandji and Simpreet Singh in 2008 were instrumental
in bringing to light links between politicians and military
officials, among others. The 31-storey building, which
had permission for six floors only, was originally meant
to house war widows and veterans. Instead, the flats
went to several politicians, bureaucrats and their
relatives. The scandal has already led to the resignation
of Ashok Chavan, the former chief minister of
Maharashtra. Other state officials are also under the
scanner.

16. We used the RTI Act to
expose several housing
frauds‘
- SOURCE – TOI Feb 25,
2011
Activist Simpreet Singh received the national RTI council award instituted by
Arvind Kejriwal's Public Cause Research Foundation on behalf of the National
Alliance for Peoples Movement (NAPM) which uses the RTI Act to expose fraud
and misappropriation of public assets. NAPM used the RTI Act to investigate
Adarsh, the tower meant for Kargil war widows, but usurped by state
bureaucrats, politicians and defence personnel who had no role to play in Kargil.

17. Assam PDS anomalies may be a multi- crore scam
- Indian Express. (April 1, 2008)
• In 2007, members of an anti-corruption non-governmental
organization based in Assam, the Krishak Mukti Sangram
Samiti, filed an RTI request that revealed irregularities in the
distribution of food meant for people below the poverty
line. The allegations of corruption were probed and several
government officials arrested.
• The NGO found out that in Golaghat district alone, over
10,000 quintals of rice (489500 kg) meant for distribution
under PDS had not reached the beneficiaries and instead
found its way to the open market.
• The scam came to light in October last year after an NGO filed a
series of RTI applications in the upper Assam districts of Golaghat,
Jorhat and Sivasagar, compelling the state Government to first
order a probe into the PDS in those three districts in December.
This month, the chief secretary expanded the scope of the probe by
extending it to all the 27 districts of the state.

18. Noorjahan exposes corrupt contractor with help of RTI
• Noorjahan (social activist), was asked to pay Rs.1000 towards contribution
of putting drainage pipeline in her area in eastern part of ahmedabad.
When she asked why should I pay for it? The local leader (contractor) told
that municipal corporation has sanctioned only 6 drainage pipelines where
all together 18 are needed. Every household need to pay Rs. 1000/-.
• There is in all 60 households in Noorjahan's locality.
• So the amount came to 60,000/-. Noorajanhan asked the local leader
whether he is going to give her receipt, which he refused.
• Noorjahaan next day visited the camp and filed an application under RTI to
ask what is the sanctioned budget, details of the work sanctioned work etc.
Noorjahan along with 25 other local women went to file an application in
District Panchayat Office.
• PIO initially refused to take application but then upon pressurizing, called
his superior. The record was shown to all the women. The record showed
that all the 18 drainage pipelines were sanctioned also 480 ft construction
was also sanctioned and they need not pay single rupee of that.
Wednesday, 20 June 2007

19. Two Bihar government officials fined under RTI
Act
• Bihar Information Commission (BIC) has fined two officials - one for not
providing information sought under the Right to Information (RTI) Act and
another for not providing information within stipulated time.
• The BIC fined the Public Information Officer (PIO) of Motihari Collectorate
Rs 25,000 as the PIO was found guitly of not not responding to the
application of one Nagendra Jaiswal who had sought certain information
from him, Commission sources said.
• The BIC directed the East Champaran District Magistrate to ensure the
compliance of the Commission's order and inform it accordingly, they said.
• The Commission asked the PIO to provide relevant information latest by
July two and fixed July 10 as the next date of hearing in the case.
• Chief Information Commissioner Justice Shashank Kumar Singh slapped a
fine of Rs 12,500 on the chief engineer of the Patna Muncipal Corporation R
P Trivedi for not not supplying information to Indrani Sinha within the
stipulated period.
• The fine would be deducted from the June and July salary of the chief
engineer, BIC sources added.
Source - Outlook India, PATNA, MAY 20, 2008(PTI)

20. Over 2,500 RTI applications still pending with Delhi GovtNew
Delhi, May 13:
Bureau Report - Zee News
• Over 2,500 applications filed under the Right to Information Act are still
pending with various departments of the Delhi government and the
registrar of cooperative societies tops the list.
• About 30,000 applications were received by various departments
of the government, including DTC, MCD and education wing,
since RTI Act was enforced in October 2005.
• According to Delhi government website, 27,055 requests for information
under the RTI Act were disposed of so far.
Among the pending 2,542 applications, a maximum of 550 is with registrar
of cooperative societies, which earned the court's ire after a scam was
detected in the group housing societies, people's action and Urja, umbrella
organisations of RWAS in the capital, claimed today.
• "Registrar of co-operative societies has been the maximum defaulter in not
providing the correct or complete details sought by applicants," a release
issued by people's action and Urja said.

21. PM Modi's Estranged Wife Jashodaben Files RTI on Her
Security
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi's estranged wife, Jashodaben,
has filed an RTI application asking for an explanation of the
sort of security that she gets from the government.
• In her three-page application, Jashoda Chiman Modi, a
retired school teacher who lives in Brahmanwada village in
Unjha, Mehsana district, has said, "I am the wife of the Prime
Minister and as per protocol, I seek details on what other
facilities other than security cover I am entitled to...I should
be provided a certified copy of the order under which security
is provided to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's family
members, brothers, sisters and me”
• She has also stated, "I travel by public transport while my
security personnel travel in official vehicles."

22. source : February 02, 2015 20:45 IST – NDTV
Reported by Rohit Bhan (with inputs from agencies)

23. SUGGESTIONS AND CONCLUSIONS
• The Act does not emphasize active intervention in
educating people about their right to access information
-- vital in a country with high levels of illiteracy and
poverty -- or the promotion of a culture of openness
within official structures.
• Without widespread education and awareness about the
possibilities under the new Act, it could just remain on
paper.
• Only by empowering the ordinary citizen can any nation
progress towards greatness and by enacting the Right to
Information Act 2005 India has taken a small but
significant step towards that goal.
• Requirements : Awareness, promotion, workshops, help
desk set ups, including RTI in study syllabus, etc