JAMIA MILLIA ISLAMIA UNIVERSITY, NEW DELHI

(FACULTY OF LAW)

Administrative Law

Project On-

RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT, 2005

SUBMITTED TO: - BHAVNA SHARMA

SUBMITTED BY: - BAQAR ALI

B.A.LL.B. (Self-finance) 6th Semester

Batch: 2020-2021
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude and thank my professor, Bhavna Ma’am, for instilling
confidence in me and entrusting the task to carry out a project on Concept and Growth of delegated
Legislation in India. It was very difficult task to carry out research work during the pandemic of
COVID-19, but the supportive materials provided by Ma’am were very useful during my
assignment. I am indeed privileged having being groomed in a prestigious institution like Jamia
Millia Islamia, New Delhi. I would also like to express my gratitude to my friends and family for
their support and help during this research work.
TABLE OF CONTENTS:

 Introduction

 Right to Information and the Indian Constitution

 Important Provisions of the RTI Act, 2005

 Challenges and shortcomings of the RTI Act

 Recommendations/Suggestions for RTI Act

 Conclusion

 References
LIST OF CASES:

 Bennette Coleman v. Union of India, AIR 1973 SCR (2)

 State of UP v. Raj Narain, AIR 1975 SCR (3)

 In Secretary, Ministry of I & B, Government of India v Cricket Association of Bengal,

AIR 1995 SCC (2) 161

 In S.P. Gupta v. Union of India, AIR 1982 SC 149

 In People’s Union for Civil Liberties v. Union of India AIR 1997 SC 568

RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT, 2005

Introduction:

It is often said that power is derived from knowledge and information constitutes a basic
component of knowledge. Information makes men wise and it is competent enough to cope
up with the modern world. So, the citizens of a country should be well aware of the day to
day happenings whatever within the government. The transition from governance to good
governance is possible, only if there is possibility of increasing participation of people in
governance and free access of information

After the establishment of the UNO, the international community adhered to practice,
freedom of information as a basic Human Right. In Article 19 of the UDHR, it has been
clearly declared that, "Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right
includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart
information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers." The International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966 incorporated that, "everyone shall have the right
to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart
information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print,
in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice 3." Accordingly, most of the
countries of the world have incorporated freedom of information in their legislative list
providing a legal right to the people. And thus, accordingly the Indian parliament too enacted
the Freedom of Information act, 2002 in order to promote transparency and accountability in
the administration. The said act was eventually repelled and thereafter, Right to Information
Bill, 2004 (RTI) was passed by both the houses of parliament on May 2005. The Right to
Information Act was notified in the Gazette of India on 21st June, 2005. This new law
empowers Indian citizens to seek any accessible information from a public authority and
makes the government and its functionaries more accountable and responsible.

Right to Information and the Indian Constitution:

The Right to information is indisputably a fundamental right. It is a facet of “right to speech

and expression” as provided in art 19(1) (a). Right to know has increased the efficiency of
decision-making process. It has set a transparency and determines accountability in the
working of public department. Reduction in corruption in public department is due to the
implementation of Right to Information Act, 2005.

The phenomena of right to information gained momentum when Art 19 of the universal
declaration of human right was adopted in 1948 ensuring, “everyone has the right to freedom
of opinion and expression.” This right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference
and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of
frontiers.

Article 19(1)(a) guarantees to all citizens “the right to freedom of speech and expression”
clause 2 of 19 , at the same time provides, “nothing in sub clause (a) of clause (1) shall affect
the operation of any existing law, to prevent the state from making any law, in so far as, such
law imposes reasonable restriction on the exercise of the right confer by the said sub clause in
the interest of sovereignty and integrity of India , the security of state, friendly relations with
foreign state, public order, decency and morality or in relation to contempt of court,
defamation or incitement to an offence .

The Right to information is a basic human right derived from Art 19(1) (a) of the
constitution of India. The courts through their judgements in various cases have recognized
the right to access of information as a fundamental right. However, like all other fundamental
rights, the right to information has also certain reasonable restrictions. The right to
information does not mean the free flow of information without any restrictions. Like. Once
the Apex Court opined, “The people of this country have a right to know every public act,
everything that is done in a public way, by their public functionaries. They are entitled to
know the particulars of every public transaction in all its bearing. The right to know, which
is derived from the concept of freedom of speech, though not absolute, is a factor, which
should make one wary, when secrecy is claimed for transactions, which can, at any rate have
no repercussions on public security”.1

 In Bennette Coleman v. Union of India2, our Supreme Court ruled that the right to freedom
of speech and expression guaranteed by Art. 19(1) (a) included the right to information.

1
State of UP v. Raj Narain, AIR 1975 SCR (3)
2
AIR 1973 SCR (2)
 In Secretary, Ministry of I & B, Government of India v Cricket Association of Bengal 3, in
1995, the Supreme Court held that the right to impart and receive information from electronic
media was included in the freedom of speech.

 In S.P. Gupta v. Union of India4, the right of the people to know about every public act,
and the details of every public transaction undertaken by public functionaries was illustrated

.  In People’s Union for Civil Liberties v. Union of India 5, the right to information was
further elevated to the status of a human right, necessary for making governance transparent
and accountable. It was also emphasized that governance must be participatory.

Important Provisions of the RTI Act, 2005:

 Under this act, every citizen has the right to information .

 Section 2(f) of the act defines the word "Information" as any material in any form,
including Records, Documents, Memos, e-mails, Opinions, Advices, Press releases,
Circulars, Orders, Logbooks, Contracts, Reports, Papers, Samples, Models, Data material
held in any electronic form and information relating to any private body which can be
accessed by a Public Authority under any other law for the time being in force.
 As per Section 2(j), "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:
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 in any other device.

 In normal course, information to an applicant is to be supplied within 30 days from

the receipt of application by the public authority.

3
AIR 1995 SCC (2) 161
4
AIR 1982 SC 149
5
AIR 1997 SC 568
 However, if information sought concerns the life or liberty of a person, it shall be
supplied within 48 hours. And, in case the application is sent through the Assistant
Public Information Officer or it is sent to a wrong public authority, five days shall be
added to the period of thirty days or 48 hours, as the case may be.
 All public authorities are under obligation to maintain all its records duly catalogued
and indexed in a manner and the form which facilitates the right to information under
this Act and ensure that all records that are appropriate to be computerised are, within
a reasonable time and subject to availability of resources, computerised and connected
through a network all over the country on different systems so that access to such
records is facilitated.6
 It imposes duty on every public authority to designate, within 100 days of the
enactment of this Act, as many officers as the Central Public Information Officers or
State Public Information Officers, as the case may be, in all administrative units or
offices under it as may be necessary to provide information to persons requesting for
the information under this Act.7
 There shall be reasonable fees for providing information to the citizens and no fees
shall be charged from the people who are living below poverty line.8
 If the public authority fails to provide information within time limit to the person,
then it shall provide information free of charge.9
 It lays strict penalties for failing to provide information. The Information
Commission shall fine an official Rs. 250 per day (subject to maximum of Rs. 25000)
if information is delayed without reasonable cause beyond the fixed 30 days10.
 This Act shall not apply to intelligence and security organisation like Intelligence
Bureau, Research and Analysis Wing, Border Security Force, Central Reserve Police
Force, Central industrial Reserve Force, Central Economic Intelligence Bureau, Indo-
Tibetan Border Police, National Security Guards, Assam Rifles and so on. 11 However,

6
Section 4(1)(a), RTI Act, 2005
7
Section 5 (1), RTI Act, 2005
8
Proviso to section 7 (5), RTI Act, 2005
9
Section 7 (6), RTI Act, 2005
10
Section 20 (1), RTI Act, 2005
11
Section 24 (1), RTI Act, 2005
 information pertaining to allegations of corruption or violation of human rights will be
included.12
 This Act overrides Official Secrets Act, 1923, and any other law for the time being in
force or in any instrument having effect by virtue of any law other
 Constitution of Central Information Commission and the State Information
Commissions by the appropriate governments with elaborate power and functions.
The Act also provides for appointment of Information Commissioners at Central and
State level. Public authorities have designated some of its officers as Public
Information Officer. They are responsible to give information to a person who seeks
information under the RTI Act.

 Also, no Court can entertain any suit, application or other proceedings in respect of
any order made under the Act.

Challenges and shortcomings of the RTI:

Most of the uneducated or even educated peoples do not have the proper knowledge about
public Information officers, the procedure of paying fees and to get information. Absence of
user guide creates difficulty on the part of the Information seekers to gather knowledge about
the process for submitting a RTI request. Non-availability of basic infrastructure is another
serious hurdle before RTI implementation. The smooth implementation of RTI act requires
the Public Information Officers (PIO) to provide information to the applicant through
photocopies, soft copies etc. Though these facilities are easily accessible at districts level, but
it is a challenge to get information form the block/Panchayat level. PIO claims that lack of
infrastructure blockade RTI implementation at block level. Also, the limited use of
technology has hindered effective implementation of RTI act. Except in a few states no
effective IT system have been establish to monitor and report on the disposal of application
by public authorities.

12
Proviso to section 24 (1), Right to Information Act, 2005
Recommendations/Suggestions for RTI Act-

 There should be efficient and scientific record keeping agency so that applicants can
get accurate information. Without modernizing and digitizing management of
information and record providing information would take several days often
exceeding the legal deadlines.
 Government departments should be entrusted responsibility to make the
implementation of RTI easy for applicants seeking information rather than tough
procedures.
 It is the moral responsibility of the government to protect RTI activists and users and
to take legal action against the attackers.
 There is also need strong and robust monitoring and evaluation system. It will help
periodically review implementation of the law and provide feedback to government
agencies to address the shortcomings.
 There should be proper coordination among state information commissioner and
departments for the effective implementation of RTI act. Also they need to strengthen
their technical and IT capability.
 According to the act it is mandatory to provide the information in the given time
frame of 30 days. Since the information system is not integrated, therefore it becomes
difficult to provide information in the given time. Moreover, many departments could
not prepare themselves to respond according to the act.
 Government of India should set up a National RTI council, which has members,
people from various states, so that problems in implementation the RTI can be
monitored regularly.
 Last but not the least, political influence may anomalies in the functions of high level
officials, so they have to maintain integrity by ignoring the vested interest.
Conclusion:

The success of the Act could only be achieved if the government authorities take the Act in
right spirit and implement the Act efficiently. People should use it as a tool for promoting
transparency and accountability on part of the public authorities. The absence of authentic
information on matters of public interest will only encourage wild rumours and speculations
and avoidable allegations against individuals and institutions.

Therefore, the Right to Information should be in fact understood as a Constitutional Right

since it is an aspect of the right to free speech and expression which includes the right to
receive and collect information. Government should take steps to publicize this Act to aware
illiterate unaware population living in the village. The state should increasingly use the means
of Information Technology and public records in the government offices need to be digitized
for easy retrieval. Moreover, there is need active participation from people, NGO‘s, civil
society groups, coordination among RTI officials, integrity among government departments
and political will from government and elected leaders. This type of arrangement will
definitely help in establishing a better state-citizen relationship
REFERENCES:

Books:

 Sathe S.P., Administrative Law, LexisNexis Butterworths, New Delhi, 7th Edition

 Administrative Law by Durga Das Basu,

 Developments in India Administrative Law by Upendra Baxi

 Changing face of Administrative Law by M.P. Jain

 Lectures on Administrative Law by C.K. Takwani,

 The constitution of India by P.M. Bakshi

Website

 www.indiankanoon.org ww.pucl.org

 www.legalservicesindia.com ww.jurisonline.com

 www.scconline.com