Right To Information Act, 2005: All You Need To Know

Right to Information Act 2005 is an act of the Parliament of India which sets all the rules and procedures regarding citizen's right to information from the government, inspect any government documents, seek certified photocopies thereof. This Act replaced the former Freedom of Information Act, 2002 to mandate timely response to citizen requests for government information.RTI is a part of fundamental rights under Article 19(1) of the Constitution. Article 19(1) specifies that every citizen has freedom of speech and expression.Any person who is the citizen of India or Non-Residents of India (NRI) can file Right to Information.It extends to whole of India including the State of Jammu and Kashmir after the revocation of Article 370.RTI can filed only against the public authority or government authority. As defined under section 2(h) of the Right to Information Act, 2005 A public authority means an organization which is established, constituted, owned, controlled, financed by fund provided directly by the government be it Central Government, State Government or Union Territory administration.In the case of Prime Minsiter National Relief Fund v. Aseem Takyar Delhi High Court held that Prime Minsiter National Relief Fund was not a public authority under the act.Information as defined under section 2(f) of the act means any material in any form including records, documents, memos, email, circulars, orders, contracts, reports, samples etc.As defined under section 2(j) of the act "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; 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; Central CommissionState Commission. EVOLUTION OF RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT, 2005 Timeline 1977:- Janata Government headed by Morarji Desai constituted a working group to determine if Official Secrets Act, 1923 could be modified so as to facilitate greater flow of information to the public. 1986: Supreme Court in the case of Mr. Kulwal v/s Jaipur Municipal Corporation the Supreme Court gave an explicit directive that Freedom of Speech and Expression provided under Article 19 of the Constitution clearly implies Right to Information as without information the freedom of speech and expression cannot be fully used by the citizens. 1994:- The organization called Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sanghatan was instrumental in the passage of RTI Act. In the course of the struggle of the rural poor in Rajasthan The MKSS's campaign demanded transparency of official records, a social audit of government spending and redressal machinery for people who had not been given their due. Aruna Roy has been at the forefront of a number of campaigns for the rights of the poor and the marginalized. These have included, most prominently, the Right to Information, the Right to Work (the NREGA) and the Right to Food. Arvind Kejriwal was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 2006 for his contribution to India's Right to Information Movement and empowering poor citizens to fight corruption. The basic objective of Right to Information Act is to empower the citizens, promote transparency and accountability in the working of Public Authorities, contains corruption and makes our democracy work of people in real senses.The Right to Information Commission is divided as: 1996: With the objective of getting legislation on RTI passed National Campaign for People's Right to Information (NCPRI), one among several civil society groups, was founded. 1996:- Due to the pressing demand for right to information, the Press Council of India under guidance of its Chairman Justice P B Sawant drafted a law which was later updated and changed at a workshop and renamed "The Press Council–NIRD Freedom of Information Act, 1997. 1997: Tamil Nadu became the first state in India to have passed a law on Right to Information. 1997: The Madhya Pradesh Government in furtherance to implementing Right to information issued executive orders to 36 departments which later increased to more than 50 departments. 1997: The United Front government appointed a Working Group, under the Chairmanship of H D Shourie. The Working Group drafted the Freedom of Information Bill, 1997. 1997: Goa legislature enacted a law on Right to Information. 1998: A Right to Information, Bill was tabled by the Government of Madhya Pradesh. The Bill didn't become Law because the Governor denied assent. 1999: A...

Right To Information Act, 2005: All You Need To Know

Lovina Thakkar

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