The Right to Information Act was enacted in 2005 to provide citizens access to information held by public authorities in order to promote transparency and accountability. Some key aspects of the Act include establishing a framework for citizens to request information, obligations of public authorities to maintain and provide information, exemptions for denying certain information, and establishing Information Commissions to oversee the process. The Act aims to operationalize the constitutional right to information and bring more openness in governance.

1. 1
Overview of The RTI Act, 2005
The Act :
The Right To Information Act, 2005, was enacted on 15th
June 2005 and effectively came into force
from 12th
October, 2005.
The Constitutional Right :
Right to Information is a Fundamental Right guaranteed to the citizens under the Constitution of
India.
The main objective:
The main objective behind the enactment, as rightly stated in its Preamble, is to provide for setting out
of the practical regime of providing right to the citizens, to secure access to the information that is
under the control of the Public Authorities, in order to promote transparency and accountability, in the
working of every such Public Authority.
Salient Features of the Act :
The Act basically comprises of thirty one sections and two schedules and can be summarized with
reference to each section, in brief, as under:
Section 1 of the Act : Specifies the title, extent and commencement which excludes Jammu &
Kashmir from its purview.
Section 2 of the Act : Defines meaning of certain main terms used in The Act and includes
definition of ‘appropriate Government”, “ public authority”, “information “ etc.
Section 3 of the Act : Assures Right of information to every citizen.
Section 4 of the Act : This is a very important section and deals with the obligation of every
public authority to maintain various records and manuals, duly catalogued and indexed, and inter
alia includes records such as :
i The particulars of its organizations functions and duties, The powers and duties of its officers
and employees, The procedure followed in its decision making process, including channels of
supervision and accountability, The rules, regulations, instructions, manuals and records used by its
employees for discharging its functions, The monthly remuneration received by each of its officers
and employees, including the system of compensation as provided in its regulations.
ii. The budget allocated to each of its agency indicating the particulars of all plans, proposed
expenditure and reports on disbursements made.
iii The names, designation and other particulars of the Public Information Officers.
Section 5 of the Act : Deals with the designations, by every public authority, of the Public
Information Officers and other duty and obligations related matters thereto.
Section 6 of the Act : Deals with the details as regards to the requests for the information to be
made by a person for obtaining various information under the Act. The information that can be sought
is overall in nature and includes that which cannot be denied to the Parliament, State Assemblies or

2. Overview of The RTI Act, 2005
2
that which can be accessed by any Public Authority under any other Law in force and that which is in
the interest of the public.
Section 7 of the Act : Deals with the various aspects of providing information and disposal, by
the Public Information Officers, of the applications for the information sought by the citizens and lays
down certain time limits for such disposals
Section 8 of the Act : Deals with certain type of information that can be denied under the Act
from being provided to the citizens. The information which affects the sovereignty and integrity of
India and such other information can be denied.
Section 9 of the Act : Deals with the grounds for rejection of requests for access to information
and would include that that would involve infringement of copy right subsisting in person other than
that of the State.
Section 10 of the Act : Deals with the instance where the request for the access to the information
is rejected being exempt, the access may be provided to that part of the record which is not exempted.
Section 11 of the Act : Deals with certain requirements when the Third Party Information which
relates to third party or supplied by that party is sought under the Act.
Section 12 to 17 of the Act : Deals with various aspects of constitution of Central Information
Commission and State Information Commission, matters related to appointments and removals of the
Information Commissioners and other related matters.
Section 18 to 20 of the Act : Deals with the powers and functions of the Information
Commissioners, appeals and penalties for non performance of duties by the Public Information
Officers and related matters.
Section 21 to 23 of the Act : Deals with providing protection to any person for faithful action,
provides overriding effect to the provisions of this Act of inconsistency with certain other Acts and bars
jurisdiction of other courts from entertaining any order made under this Act.
Section 24 of the Act : Deals with the exclusion of certain organizations, such as intelligence
and security, from being coming under the purview of the Act and other related matters.
Section 25 to 30of the Act : Deals with the monitoring and reporting of the information,
development of educational programs, making of Rules, at Information Commission and Ministry
level and other related matters.
Section 31 of the Act : Repeals the earlier Act ‘The Freedom of Information Act 2002”.
Note : The information provided above is purely un statutory in nature and does not provide any legal
interpretations.
GOA RTI Forum
c/o. Shrikant Barve, Shri yogeshwari Stores, Odlebhat, Taleigao Goa 403002
Visit our website : http://goartiforum.org/
email : secretary@goartiforum.org Contact : (0232)2451143
“Power always has to be kept in check; power exercised in secret, especially under the cloak of
national security, is doubly dangerous.” -- Former Sen. William Proxmire