RIGHT TO RECEIVE INFORMATION AS A PART OF FREEDOM OF SPEECH

Arnav Patel

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By embracing fresh ideas, playing with them, and dismissing them if considered unimportant, a
democratic society survives. It is also important to freely bring before the public whatever
proposals the government or its other representatives possess. For a democratic society, in
particular, the free flow of knowledge is important because it allows society to develop and
flourish. It is now understood that to ensure openness and accountability in government, the
right to information is essential to democracy. It also ensures that governance is a critical
component of good democracy since it is more participatory.

When UDHR was introduced in 1948, the right to information gained strength, granting
everyone the right to search, obtain, information, and ideas through any media, regardless of
boundaries.

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 1966 also states that everyone,
regardless of borders, is entitled to freedom of speech, the freedom to search, and impart
knowledge and ideas of all kinds.

As the preamble states, one of the essential purposes of the Indian Constitution is to ensure
freedom of thought and speech for the people of India. The rules of Article 19(1)(a ) of the
Constitution. Until and until information about public matters is shared, the universal right to
speech and expression will never be exercised.

In the case of Bennet Coleman, the Supreme Court of India, taking into account the Newsprint
control order, limited the allocation of newspaper printing to a newspaper, held that such a
limitation had not only breached the right to freedom of expression of the newspaper, but also
the right of readers to read was cut down. And the right of the reader to access the newspaper
was his right to information, implicit in the right to freedom of expression. Similarly, in the case
of SP Gupta, the SC observed that the people of this country have the right to know, by these
officials, every public act, all that is done in a public way. They have the right to know the exact
details of any public transaction. The SC also held in Secretary, Ministry of Information &
Broadcasting v. Cricket Assn. of Bengal that the airwaves were public property and that their
distribution between government media and private channels should be done on a reasonable
basis as the right to impart and transmit was included in the freedom of expression.
Restrictions

There are laws that in India are inconsistent with the right to know and need to be changed to
protect the right to know. Sections 123, 124, and 162 of the Indian Evidence Act allow for
record transparency to be preserved. Section 123 provides that any head of a department can
refuse to provide information on affairs of state and only swearing that it is a state secret will
entitle not to reveal the information. Similarly, section 124 notes that no public officer shall be
obliged to reveal, in official confidence, communications rendered to him. Section 162 specifies
that a court does not review a document relating to state matters.

Right to Information Law in India

India may be a powerhouse in the IT market, but after 60 years of independence, the
government has never been serious about legislation on the right to information. They would
not merely declare that the right to information is a fundamental right. This right must be
enforced to the maximum degree. The Freedom of Information Act was passed in 2002 by the
Indian parliament. This bill could not enter into force after receiving the President’s approval
because of the lack of notification by the Central Government.

In 2005, the UPA Government enacted a new law on the same with the title Right to
Information Act 2005, which came into force on 12 Oct 2005, because the bill was unable to
serve the intent. The process for asking for details is very simple; with a small charge, anyone
may make an application in writing on a simple document. And it is mandatory to provide the
details as per the Act within 30 days of that order. For appeal purposes, several states have set
up Public Information Commissions. The act also creates a Center Information Board.

Conclusion

The Right to Information is an important part of democratic politics. Knowledge often

empowers individuals and guarantees administrative accountability. But the access of
individuals to knowledge is very limited because the process is not so powerful and the brain of
a man actively holds back information. The Right to Information Act 2005 seems to be an
important statute, but what about its effective implementation? And it needs people who are
conscious and trained and can use it for their wellbeing. Therefore, the government must first
ensure that a majority of the population is educated so that this act can survive for a longer
period and represent the nation's impoverished and poor citizens. A high order of judicial
activism in terms of execution is also important. If it succeeds in its goal, public engagement
would inevitably increase.