Historical Background
There are seven unique elements of “governance” outlined by a World Bank Report in the year 1992, two of which are accountability as well as transparency & information in its pursuit of “good governance.” Historically speaking, public outrage over the repression of information, press censorship, and misuse of authority during the Internal Emergency of 1975—1977 led to the first political adherence to the citizen’s right to information that emerged on the eve of the Lok Sabha Elections in 1977.
The UPA Government’s Common Minimum Program included a commitment to the Right to Information, and the National Advisory Council (NAC), which was presided over by Congress President Sonia Gandhi until March 2006, handled a large portion of the necessary work. On 15-06-2005, the Parliament passed the Right to Information Act, 2005, and ten days later the President gave his assent.
Right To Information Act, 2005
The Act is one of the most important acts which empower the citizens to question the government and its work. This has been widely used by the citizens and media to uncover Corruption, progress in government work, expenses – related information, etc.
The goal of RTI Act is to empower citizens, promote openness and accountability in government operation, combat corruption and make our democracy truly function for the people.
All constitutional authorities, agencies owned and controlled, also those organizations which are substantially financed by the government come under the purview of the act. The act also mandates authorities to provide timely response to the citizens’ request for information.
What type of information can be requested through Right to information?
The citizens can seek any information from the government authorities that the government can disclose to the parliament. Some information that can affect the sovereignty and the integrity of the India is exempted from the purview of RTI.
Objectives of the RTI Act
- Empower Citizen to question the government.
- The act promotes transparency and accountability in the working of the government.
- The act envisages building better-informed citizens who would keep necessary vigil about the function of the government machinery.
- In the case of the Central Board of Secondary Education & Anr. Vs. Aditya Bandopadhyay & Ors. . The preamble to the Act declares the object sought to be achieved by the RTI Act thus:
- “An Act to provide for setting out the practical regime of right to information for citizens to secure access to information under the control of public authorities, to promote transparency and accountability in the working of every public authority, the constitution of a Central Information Commission and State Information Commissions and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. Whereas the Constitution of India has established democratic Republic; And whereas democracy requires an informed citizenry and transparency of information which are vital to its functioning and also to contain corruption and to hold Governments and their instrumentalities accountable to the governed; 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; And whereas it is necessary to harmonize these conflicting interests while preserving the paramountcy of the democratic ideal.”
Significance of Right to Information
- The RTI act 2005, empowers the citizen to question the secrecy and abuse of power practiced in governance.
- The information can be regarded as a public good, for it is relevant to the interest of citizens and is a crucial pillar for the functioning of a transparent and vibrant democracy.
- The Supreme Court has, in several judgments, held that the RTI is a fundamental right flowing from Articles 19 and 21 of the Constitution, which guarantee citizens the freedom of speech and expression and the right to life, respectively.
Recent Amendments
- The RTI amendment Bill 2013 removes political parties from the ambit of the definition of public authorities and hence from the purview of the RTI Act.
- The draft provision 2017 which provides for closure of case in case of death of applicant can lead to more attacks on the lives of whistleblowers.
- The proposed RTI Amendment Act 2018 is aimed at giving the Centre the power to fix the tenures and salaries of state and central information commissioners, which are statutorily protected under the RTI Act. The move will dilute the autonomy and independence of CIC.
- The Act proposes to replace the fixed 5-year tenure with as much prescribed by the government.
Latest Interesting Judgments on Right to Information
Chargesheet and Final reports not equivalent to FIRs can’t be published on state websites for public access:
In a plea seeking free public access to chargesheets and final reports filed as per Section 173 of Criminal Procedure Code, the bench of MR Shah and CT Ravikumar, JJ. has held that the States cannot be directed to put such information on their websites
– “Saurav Das v. Union of India”,2023 SCC Online SC 58.
Right to Information vis-a-vis Right to Privacy; SC invokes doctrine of ex debito justitiae to hear HDFC’s plea challenging RBI directions mandating disclosure of confidential & sensitive information:
In a case raising a significant question of law as to whether the Supreme Court’s decision can be challenged in a writ petition after attaining finality? The Division Bench of B.R. Gavai* and C.T. Ravikumar, JJ., rejected the interlocutory application challenging the maintainability of the writ petition while holding that though the concept of the finality of judgment must be preserved, at the same time, the principle of “ex debito justitiae1” cannot be given a go bye. The Court added “To err is human, and the Courts including the Apex Court are no exception.”
– “HDFC Bank Ltd. v. Union of India, 2022 SCC Online SC 1337.
Conclusion
- The RTI Act has not achieved its full objectives due to some impediments created due to systematic failures. It was to achieve social justice, transparency and to make an accountable government.
- This law provides us with a priceless opportunity to redesign the processes of governance, particularly at the grassroots level where the citizens’ interface is maximum.
- It is well recognized that the right to information is necessary, but not sufficient, to improve governance. A lot more needs to be done to usher in accountability in governance, including protection of whistleblowers, decentralization of power and fusion of authority with accountability at all levels.
Written by – Harshit Tiwari
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