UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE OF LEGAL STUDIES

PANJAB UNIVERSITY. CHANDIGARH

A project report submitted to University Institute of Legal Studies as a

part of curriculum of subject RIGHT TO INFORMATION AND
MEDIA LAW Paper V Semester 7th B. Com LLB

Right to information as
prerogative of good governance

SUBMITTED TO SUBMITTED BY
Dr. Sonal Bani Arora
UILS, PU B.Com. LLB (4th year)
Chandigarh 200/20
Section- D
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Primarily, I would like to thank God for being able to complete this project with success.
Then I would like to thank my professor ‘Dr. Sonal’ whose valuable guidance has been the
ones that helped me patch this project and her suggestions and instructions has served as the
major contributor towards the completion of the project on the topic- ‘Right to information
as prerogative of good governance’.

Then I would like to thank my parents and friends who helped me with their valuable
suggestions and guidance which has been helpful in various phases of the completion of this
project.

Last but not the least I would like to thank my classmates who helped me a lot.

Bani Arora

200/20
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

S.NO. PARTICULARS PAGE NO.

1. Introduction 1
2. Right to Information Act, 2005 2-4
3. Good governance 4
4. RTI Act and Good governance 4-6
5. RTI act as a tool for empowerment of common people 6
6. RTI act a tool for promoting good governance 7-14
7. Important judicial pronouncements 15-16
8. Conclusion 17
9. Bibliography 18
 INTRODUCTION
No amount of developmental schemes can enhance the lifestyle of Indian citizens without good
governance. To promote the concept of good governance Right to Information Act (RTI),
2005 was passed in India along with 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments. Right to
information is viewed as the key to strengthening participatory democracy which is used for
the welfare of the people. Access to information is empowering in a democracy as it urges the
people of the nation to scrutinize the actions and policies of the government.

Right to Information brings accessibility to the administration. The affairs of the state become
transparent when documents are accessible by public eyes. With transparency, rampant
corruption can be questioned and reduced. It also helps in rectifying public policies with the
help of feedback provided by the people as these policies are made for the ultimate welfare of
these people.

Right to Information’ (RTI) refers to the right of every citizen to access information held by or
under the control of public authorities. The Congress-led UPA government took pride in
passing the RTI Act in 2005. Since then, this Act has been used by citizens to question the
government, reduce the rate of corruption, and point out mismanagement in government affairs.
People redress their grievances using this Act.

RTI Act has also promoted and led to the good governance of the country and is deemed as a
basic prerequisite of good governance. There is a close link between Right to Information and
Good governance. Good governance is characterized by transparency, accountability and
responsiveness. Human security, shelter, food, environment and employment opportunity are
all bound up with Right to Information. In the absence of information on this issue, people
can‘t live a dignified life and will remain ever a marginalized group in the society. It is a
powerful instrument to protect the fundamental rights of people. Indian Parliament has passed
Right to Information Act, 2005 to make government accountable, responsible, efficient and
transparent in order to lead to good governance of the country. The RTI is now accepted, as a
crucial underpinning of participatory democracy. It has been widely acknowledged as a
prerequisite for ensuring accountability and good governance.

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 RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT, 2005
India celebrated its first Republic Day on 26th January, 1950. That day, India became a
sovereign republic nation. The government exchequer collected by different ways ultimately
belongs to the citizens of the country. Citizens elect their representatives and send them to the
Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha for managing the public money. The people’s representatives are
actually public servants. As they are public servants, their position is secondary to that of
citizens. But, unfortunately, this fact has not been realized by the people in the last 60 years of
Independence. Some people with vested interest deliberately kept the citizens in darkness.
Citizens are at the helm of affairs in democracy, nobody is beyond them. The public servants
have to serve the citizens. But, the picture is altogether different today. The People’s
Representatives and the Civil Servants have become masters of the country and made the
citizens poor servants. This Act has enabled the common man to seek information. Till to-date,
the people have to obey the laws; whereas the government machinery controlled everything.
But by the advent of this Act, the Government Agencies have to obey the law and the people
have got controlling power. The world over, country after democratic country, has recognized
the need to keep their citizens informed about the way Government takes decisions. In our
country we have the Right to Information Act for the last 10 years. The spirit of the Act can be
best summarized by stating that without informed citizens there is no democracy. It recognizes
that in a democracy citizens are the masters and servants cannot deny information to their
masters. In fact, servants acts as trustees and hold the information belonging to their masters.
But for almost six decades, the servants behaved like masters and the masters simply accepted
this treatment.

Rampant corruption prevailing in the country forced the lawmakers to understand that there is
no way the country can become better without the servants favouring good governance. Under
these circumstances, the preamble of the Right to Information Act highlights containing
corruption, improving transparency and making servants accountable by empowering citizens
to get information.

It lays down the foundation for a better tomorrow. In fact, every citizen who is the master has
now the same power to obtain information which only the legislators had so far. This single
aspect alone should create a new group of people who will demand good governance. This tool
should help the poorest. To help the poorest requires attacking corruption at its root. The RTI
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Act is sufficiently strong in its present form to even attack the roots of corruption. There will
forever be corruption at the lower levels as long as its seeds are sown at the highest level. The
RTI Act can be used to expose these seeds of corruption which in turn can curb corruption at
the lower levels.

Today, in addition to this Act, we have the benefit of internet. Also most of the youth today do
not bribe to get jobs. Even if a small number of such people who can handle technology
effectively are motivated to fight corruption it can do wonders. Such optimism was unthinkable
only a few years back. The RTI Act, young people and internet can really bring in the real
freedom to everybody. This was unlike during Mahatma Gandhi’s time when he had to move
from place to place to mobilize people and use communication methods which were very
primitive. So, we are at a distinct advantage as we are empowered by technology. India is
graded year after year as one of the most corrupt countries in the world. By fighting corruption
we are making our own tomorrow better.

RTI Act recognizes that information held in any form should be made available to citizens. In
fact, samples of materials used also come under the definition of information. Overriding all
other facts, the RTI Act allows information pertaining to third parties to be given to the citizen
even if prohibited by the earlier Acts. The only requirement is that the information sought
should be in public interest. As far as information held by the Government including personal
information, the Act allows one to get such information without even giving any reason as to
why you need that information. The RTI Act not only helps the citizens but also the whistle-
blower and to recognize whether a particular person is a genuine whistle-blower or not, all one
has to do is see files handled by him earlier. In this way supporting a whistle-blower is a much
easier task today. But as whistle-blowers do not announce about their own activities, opinion
of individuals should be collected and likely whistle-blower’s list should be prepared. The very
fact of preparation of a whistle-blower’s list itself allows more information to come regarding
whistle-blowers.

Right to Information is a fundamental human right allowing access to public information and
is well established, both in legislation and in practice. It has been swiftly gaining popularity in
many parts of the world as an effective tool to strengthen participatory democracy, promote
good governance, check corruption and help ensure other rights thereby building an open and

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accountable society. As a result, billions of people around the world now enjoy the right to
access information held by their governments and public agencies. Millions of people around
the world have utilized these laws to access public information, to expose and check corruption,
to enhance their ability to participate in public affairs, to improve public service delivery and
to protect other human rights, opportunities and justice.

GOOD GOVERNANCE
Good governance is fundamentally the combination of transparent and accountable institutions,
strong and competence, and a fundamental willingness to do the right thing. These are the
things that enable a government to deliver services to its people efficiently. Good governance
thus depends on interaction between stakeholders – leaders, political parties, bureaucracy,
parliament, judiciary, private sector, civil society, media – and their interests; on capacity –
human, technical, financial – of stakeholders to perform their role; and on incentives &
accountability – rules & norms that provide incentives, rewards & sanctions to act in the public
interest.

Transparency, accountability, informed citizenry and reduction in corruption being the critical
elements of good governance, the Act looks forward to realization of greater good for the larger
spectrum of citizens. Right of access to information encompasses right to participation,
accountability and transparency and realization of the right holds the promise of promoting and
strengthening citizen led initiative for good governance. Access to information holds centrality
in realization of good governance helping mounting of citizen led demand for transparency,
accountability, predictability, responsiveness and participation. In other words, it enhances the
quality of citizen participation in governance from mere vote-casting to involvement in the
decision-making that affects his/her life.

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 RTI ACT & GOOD GOVERNANCE
The result of good governance is development that “gives priority to the poor, advances the
cause of women, sustains the environment, and creates needed opportunities for employment
and other livelihoods”. UNDP defines good governance in terms of eight specific
characteristics i.e. participatory, consensus oriented, accountable, transparent, responsive,
effective and efficient, equitable and inclusive, and the rule of law where participation,
transparency, legitimacy and responsiveness forms the pillars of good governance.

In India, the concept of good governance was applied through the passing of RTI Act, 2005,
73rd and 74th constitutional amendment. Right to information is a basic requisite of good
governance and the Act has played a major role in good governance as it has helped in making
the system transparent and accountable.

Democracy is all about people’s participation and empowerment. RTI Act has played a
significant role in strengthening democracy by promoting decentralization of power and good
governance. RTI Act gave the common people a defining power to shape the government
schemes and policies. Governance was no more an arbitrary privilege of select few. RTI Act
lent voice to the aspirations of ordinary citizens in issues of governance. The best way to deal
with all these challenges while promoting good governance is by making the Act redundant.
The governments, instead of waiting for the common people to seek information, must
voluntarily make all the information available to the people. It will not only promote good
governance but also increase the trust between government and the people it governs.

RTI Act has lent voice to the aspirations of ordinary citizens in issues of governance. It gave
the common people a defining power to shape the government schemes and policies. It
empowered the people to question, audit, review, examine, and assess government acts and
decisions to ensure that these are consistent with the principles of public interests, good
governance and justice. The greater the access of the citizen to the information, the greater
would be the responsiveness of the government to community needs. Without information, the
common man cannot adequately exercise his rights and responsibilities or make informed
choices. So Right to Information is the most effective instrument to check corruption where
the citizen has the right to take the initiatives to seek information from the state and thereby

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promotes openness, transparency and accountability in administration by making the
government more open to public scrutiny. It also empowered the people to seek definite and
direct answer from the officials of their works or lack of it thus facilitating and encouraging
the participation of common people in the process of good governance. RTI Act democratized
the information and decentralized the power. Power no more remains confined to select few,
rather it was made available equally to all the citizens.Good governance is characterised by
transparency and accountability and the best way to ensure transparency and accountability in
governance is through increased and informed participation of people.

RTI ACT AS A TOOL OF EMPOWERMENT FOR

COMMON PEOPLE
Under RTI Act, citizens and citizen groups are empowered to approach the concerned
department and check the planning and development permissions in detail as to whether they
were given after giving due consideration to all factors or any undue compromise is made to
favour some groups. They are also empowered to approach the department to arrange
inspection of buildings or trade premises to find out whether the building activity or trade
activity is in accordance with the permissions and conditions. They can make appeals to the
authorities based on their actual monitoring of actual development and its deviation from
sanctions. Citizen/ citizen groups can also seek information on environmental protection data
from the public authority using the RTI Act. Citizens can invoke RTI Act and seek information
on the maintenance of the sites and regulation of development around the structures/areas and
even perform social audits to bring about any major differences between the allowed and actual
development. The citizens and citizen groups can make effective use of the RTI Act to ensure
that the self-employment benefits reach the appropriate target groups laid down under the
programme and that they are effectively utilised for the employment generation of the
unemployed. The RTI Act can be used as an effective tool in ensuring that the unemployed and
under-employed have got livelihood and acquire employment through improved skills. In the
absence of employment generation, this can help people in requesting and demanding
employment generation programmes from the ULB. The RTI Act can be used as an effective
tool in ensuring that the incentives proposed for organized women groups are properly provided
and the women groups are empowered and benefited socially and economically. So,
undoubtedly RTI Act serves as a great tool of empowerment for the common people.

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 RTI ACT AS A TOOL FOR PROMOTING GOOD
GOVERNANCE
A. People’s Participation
The passing of 73rd and 74th constitutional amendment has become a mean for ensuring
effective governance since the twin aim of decentralization i.e. deepening democracy and good
governance can be achieved with active participation of the people.

People are biggest stakeholder in governance; they have a critical and crucial role to play in
promoting good governance in the country. Participation envisages involvement of the entire
society in governance. Both men and women are the cornerstone of good governance.
Representative democracy does not mean the rule of chosen few; it must take into interest of
all sections specially the most vulnerable sections in the society.

Without people’s participation, the Right to Information will remain a non-starter. Participation
has a wide range of definitions. On the one side, some researchers take participation to mean
simply engaging with any particular activity; on the other side, researchers define participation
as a process through which people influence and share control over development initiatives.
Right to Information Act creates a connection between people and government. Good
governance requires that civil society has the opportunity to participate during the formulation
of development strategies and that directly affected communities and groups should be able to
participate in the design and implementation of programmes and projects. Even where projects
have a secondary impact on particular localities or population groups, there should be a
consultation process that takes their views into account. Citizens who understand public affairs
and what government is doing can voice their opinion on issues that affect their lives and they
can participate in the business of government. Right to information facilities citizens in making
political and economic choices and thus strengthens democracy. RTI Act facilitates and
encourages the participation of common people in the process of promoting governance. Earlier
people had the will, but did not have the way to take part in so-called ‘official affairs’. But RTI
Act paved the way for active participation of the common people in promoting good
governance.

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People have showed increased interest in the affairs of government and sought information
regarding various issues affecting their lives and well-being. RTI Act empowered the people
to seek definite and direct answer from the officials of their works or lack of it. RTI applications
have annually increased by 8 to 10 times. A 2009 study estimates that in the Act’s first three
years alone, close to two million RTI requests were filed in different parts of the country. Thus,
there is massive use of the right to know. Of the millions of applications for information, less
than 5 per cent have been denied information under various exemption categories. So,
accountability has invariably led to efficiency and a sense of responsibility among government
officials.

B. Accountability and Transparency

Transparency is the corner stone of any good government. Public has right, to know about the
policies and programmes of the government. All communication of the government must be
opened to the public. Access to information is a great enabler of transparency and transparency
refers to availability of information to general public and clarity about functioning of
government institutions. The Right to Information act is intended to promote accountability
and transparency in government by making the process of government decision making more
open. Though some departments of the Union government are exempted from this Act but the
information can be sought if it is concerned with violation of human rights. Even the
information from the private authority can be sought only through the controlling authority and
controlling authority will send the notice to the institution concerned under section 11 of the
Act.

It has been realized by most of the countries through experience that greater access of the
citizens to information enhances the openness of government to community needs. In turn, this
facilitates immediate redressed of public grievances and thus improves feeling of goodwill
towards the government. Capitalists and democratic countries have a higher degree of openness
vis-a-vis authoritarian regimes; nowhere in the world is government functioning totally open.

In India, the government passed a landmark Right to Information Act in 2005. Since then,
social activists, civil society organizations, and ordinary citizens have effectively used the Act
to tackle corruption and bring greater transparency and accountability in the government. We
have had instances where numerous activists and groups have used this tool to good effect

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ensuring the values of transparency and accountability are upheld. RTI as a tool has been
majorly used by organized citizen groups, activists and NGOs. As far as its utilization by the
individual citizen or the common man goes, the figures are far from satisfactory. Trends tell us
that the use of RTI by the common man has been sparse and not up to the mark. This in itself
is not a desired result as the RTI aims to empower the common man, irrespective of his/her
association with citizen group or NGOs.

Right to information enables citizens to see how governments, those in public offices are
working. Public openly comes to know what is to be happened and what has happened.

In the absence of any public interest in seeking information, the RTI gets degenerated into
settling scores and mudslinging. Indiscriminate and impractical demands by applicants with no
relation to transparency, accountability and eradication of corruption are proving to be
counterproductive. The executive and government machinery gets tied to non-productive work
affecting the efficiency of administration.

RTI has also brought transparency in the system. According to 2012 ranking of Transparency
International, India stood up at 94, out of 176 nations. The survey also revealed that 54%
Indians paid bribe, at least once, to get things done. After enactment of this Act, many cases of
corruption came to light. From the Commonwealth Games to the 2G scam, RTI queries have
been the starting point of exposure in a score of recent cases of corruption. It is the most
powerful weapon in hands of common people to challenge the impenetrable fortress of
officialdom.

EFFECTS OF RTI ACT IN PROMOTING GOOD GOVERNANCE

As social activists, civil society organizations, and ordinary citizens have effectively used the
Act, the law is increasingly being able to tackle high profile corruption. With corruption being
viewed as one of the biggest obstacles, an empirical study concluded that the RTI negatively
impacted corruption and its statistical impact on curbing corruption was quite significant. The
study conducted in 20 states found that the Act has reduced the corruption in an average state
by 18.5%. Findings of a national level survey jointly conducted by the Transparency
International and the Centre for Media Studies revealed that India’s economy in the last three
years has grown at unprecedented high rate of 8 – 9% per annum due to decline in corruption

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and malpractices. Thus, it shows a strong and positive impact of RTI on transparency and
accountability of the Government.

For many, particularly India’s poor and disadvantaged, the simple act of filing an RTI
application is empowering, and often leads to tangible results. In 2010, K.S. Sagaria, a resident
of Kushmal village in rural Orissa, filed an RTI application seeking information on the number
of ponds constructed in his village under the government’s national wage employment scheme.
The information he received was revealing: the ponds had never been constructed even though
money had been allocated and spent. Following complaints from villagers, the local
administration was forced to take action and suspend the officials involved in the pond scam.

Civil society organizations have also played an important role in raising public awareness about
RTI and assisting citizens in filing requests for information.[xlii] State-wide tours are held for
awareness generation among people. Public addresses are organized in many towns and
programmes are arranged specially for college students. Posters, banners and folders are
printed and distributed in thousands. All this have resulted in the awakening of the citizens and
have made them aware of their fundamental Right to Information.[xliii] For example, Delhi-
based NGO Satark Nagarik Sangathan (SNS) runs an information center to assist local
residents and slum dwellers to file RTI applications and has successfully campaigned for
improvements in the quality of public services including water, sanitation, the public
distribution system, and even the performance of local elected representatives.

In addition to such initiatives, the law is increasingly being used to tackle high profile
corruption. Much of the information regarding corruption in the allocation of tenders and
contracts for last year’s Commonwealth Games was unearthed using RTI. In 2010, a series of
RTI applications filed by the Housing and Land Rights Network, a Delhi-based NGO, revealed
that the Delhi government had diverted funds from its social welfare programs for
infrastructure development under the Commonwealth Games.

TII’s program, Pahal, has been bringing good governance to remote villages, by easing
information flow to rural areas, facilitating government service delivery, and strengthening
local government bodies. Through tools such as social audits and citizens’ charters, the
program ensures that government money is spent on equitable development. Working with TII

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and local allies, villagers have recovered money lost to corruption and enforced fines on
officials who solicited bribes. Villagers are renewing democracy by participating in gram
sabhas (village assemblies), running for elected office, and demanding accountability.

In the model district of Mochha, Chhattisgarh, people are using RTI to secure employment,
scholarships and pensions for the elderly. They also pressured government doctors and school
teachers to show up at work regularly. Villagers in Madhubani district, Bihar used RTI to
expose a solar-light scam, leading to charges against 200 corrupt officials.

If this Act reaches every village and every household, it has potential to check corruption to an
extent of 80 – 85%. Due to corruption, only 10 percent could reach the real beneficiaries of the
poverty alleviation programmes earlier. Rest of the money percolated to the purses of corrupt
officers and politicians. Now, due to the Act of Right to Information, the poor villagers will
get their due share in the development process. The quality of project works has started to
improve after the Act.

One simple yet powerful example of how effective RTI can be is reflected in this story of a
slum-dweller who wanted a ration card. The protagonist was told that he would have to pay a
bribe of Rs 2,000 to obtain a new ration card. But he just went ahead and applied for the ration
card without giving any bribe or groveling in front of officials for pity. The slum-dweller,
however, decided to become the enforcer of good governance. He found out in how many
weeks people who paid bribes got their ration cards. He waited for an extra four weeks and
then applied for information under RTI. Using the simple format and with a Rs 10 application
fee he delivered it to the PIO at the Food and Supply office. He asked up to which date
applications for ration cards had been cleared and the details of the progress of his application.
This shook up the corrupt officials, since this would be written confirmation that they had given
ration cards to others who had applied after him, which would be conclusive evidence that they
had no justification for delaying his card. The ration card was given to him immediately. No
bribes, no endless visits and no begging before the corrupt. Our RTI-empowered citizen was
able to enforce the supremacy of the citizen by using RTI.[xlix]

The larger use of RTI has been seen in areas of women empowerment, youth development,
democratic rights, rights and entitlements of the underprivileged, abuse of executive discretion

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and strengthening of participative and good governance. From purpose focused beginnings
amply and aptly shown by the political and social activist Aruna Roy and others, today it is
also used by politicians for pure political fights, agents of corporate for commercial interests
and ‘information businessmen’ clothed as activists for blackmail and ulterior motives. In the
absence of any public interest in seeking information, the RTI gets degenerated into settling
scores and mudslinging. The executive and government machinery gets tied to non-productive
work affecting the efficiency of administration. RTI got evolved to empower the dalits,
minorities, backward classes, the economically weaker sections and vulnerable groups. Today
it is tilting towards exposing politicians and government officials. There is a variance from the
fundamental preamble of the Right to Information Act.[l]

SUCCESS STORIES OF RTI ACT IN PROMOTING GOOD GOVERNANCE

Five officials of Akola Municipal Corporation (AMC) in Maharashtra State who did not supply
the information sought by applicants have been fined to the tune of over Rs.1.50 lakh under the
Maharashtra Right to Information Act, 2002. AMC Commissioner, Gajananrao Ghate passed
the order on 21 December 2004 after the five officers – an official In the Administration Wing,
a PWD Engineer, a Town Planner and two other officers – failed to supply information within
the stipulated time, as per the provisions of the Act. The fine amount would be recovered from
the salaries of the respective officials, the Commissioner’s order clarified. The action was taken
against these officials on the basis of the petitions filed by ordinary citizens.

In December 2002, Parivartan, an NGO crusading for citizens rights in New Delhi conducted
a Jan Sunwai (public hearing) to expose the high levels of corruption in public works carried
out by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). Using the Delhi Right to Information Act
to acquire copies of contracts for public works in two resettlement colonies in East Delhi,
Parivartan conducted a social audit of 68 such works with alarming results. The social audit
uncovered specific instances of corruption. Parivartan’s investigations into the 68 public works
found that items worth Rs.70 lakhs were missing. With these findings in hand, Parivartan met
the Chief Minister, Chief Secretary, Secretary (Administrative Reforms) of Government of
Delhi and the MCD Commissioner demanding that the guilty be punished. They also wrote to
the Delhi Police to file an FIR to start the process for framing charges.

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A study conducted by RTI Assessment & Analysis Group (RaaG) and National Campaign for
People’s Right to Information (NCPRI) covered over 35,000 people in villages, towns and
cities across ten states and Delhi. Also 1027 public authorities’ offices were inspected both in
the rural as well as urban areas. The study highlighted that though data supplied by the
government indicates a success rate of 70/100, with a full mark for providing complete
information and half a mark for part information, their own experience with the RTI
applications, success rate becomes 55/100. Whereas government claimed that 90% of the time
information was provided in time, their own experience suggested 40%.

In 2007, data obtained under RTI inspired citizens to question elected representatives to stop a
scam worth over Rs. 6,000 crores in the Crawford Market redevelopment issues in Mumbai.

RTI Act has been incorporated in the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA).
RTI has been judiciously used to expedite NREGA. For example, the villagers of Elengabalsa
village of Bandhugaon Gram Panchayat of Koraput district filed an RTI application to know
the number of job cards issued in the village; why all the households, who by this time should
have got the cards, had not received them; who were the officers guilty of violating the
provisions of the Act, etc. The RTI Act worked as a miracle. The Panchayat authorities issued
40 job cards within seven days of the RTI application; promised to deliver the rest within some
days. In a similar case in the Tumudibandh block of Kandhamal district, the Block
Development Officer, responding to an RTI appeal, immediately released 500 job cards
promising to give the rest eventually. NREGA has brought thousands of people above the
family poverty line of Rs.28, 000.

USING RTI – FULL OF RISKS

Using RTI in India is not without risks. RTI activists have increasingly come under threat and
attack, with many suffering fatal injuries. Over the last 10 years, around 40 RTI activists were
murdered and around 300 assaulted or harassed for filing uncomfortable RTIs in different parts
of the country, causing widespread alarm among civil society groups. Most of those killed were
investigating irregularities in sectors such as mining, land, and local elections where corruption
is rampant. Civil society organizations are now demanding that the government take concrete
measures to protect the lives of such individuals.

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Satender Dubey, who engineered 180km highway under NHAI’s “Golden Quadrilateral”
where he found malpractices i.e. ‘‘loot of public money’’ reported for the same to PM and later
was shot and killed as his letter was leaked.

Some murders for seeking info under RTI:

 Ram Vilas Singh in Lakhi Sarai in Bihar asked police why an accused in a murder case
was not arrested
 Niyamat Ansari sought information on MGNREGS in Jharkhand
 Amit Jetwa on illegal mining in Gujarat’s Gir forest
 Satish Shetty for highlighting land grabbing in Pune.
 Shimbu Ram Bishnoi of Jodhpur sought access to information on MGNREGA and
PDS.
 Nandi Singh of Bishnu of Assam for pursuing irregularities in PDS in his village.[liv]
Despite these risks, the RTI Act has continued to grow in popularity among citizens and
activists alike. While activists are split on whether the RTI has led to a reduction in corruption
in India, most agree that the law is a critical step in the right direction. Speaking to The New
York Times, RTI activist Shekhar Singh said that the main objective of India’s RTI movement
was to empower people, concluding that “this law has done that – given the people the power
to challenge their government. That is no small thing.”

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 IMPORTANT JUDICIAL PRONOUNCEMENTS
RELATING TO RTI
In order to understand the effectiveness of a Fundamental Right it is important to analyse the
various aspects in which the right has been given effect by the Judiciary. A few landmark cases
have been taken to highlight the various facets relating to Right to Information:

 In Bennett Coleman v. Union of India, for the first time, right to know as a Fundamental
right was realized and consequently the Supreme Court ruled that the right to freedom of speech
and expression guaranteed by Art. 19(1) (a) included the right to information.

 In State of UP v. Raj Narain, Justice Mathew thoroughly stated, “It is not in the interest of
the public to cover with a veil of secrecy the common routine business … the responsibility of
officials to explain and to justify their acts is the chief safeguard against oppression and
corruption.”

 In Secretary, Ministry of I&B, Government of India v Cricket Association of Bengal, 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 India, the right of the people to know about every public act, and
the details of every public transaction undertaken by public functionaries was illustrated by the
Apex Court of India.

 In People’s Union for Civil Liberties v. Union of India, the right to information was further
elevated to the status of a human right, necessary for making governance transparent and
accountable.

LANDMARK DECISIONS BY THE CHIEF ELECTION COMMISSION:

 In the case of Paramveer Singh v. Punjab University, the applicant applied for information
regarding the merit list for selection of candidates to a particular post in the university.
However, no proper information was provided. The Commission held that every public

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authority, must take all measures in pursuance of Section 4(1) (a) to implement efficient record
management systems in their offices so that the requests for information can be dealt promptly
and accurately.

 In the case of Shyam Yadav v. Department of Personnel Training, the applicant had sought
details of property statements filed by bureaucrats. The Commission held that property
statements filed by civil servants are not confidential and information can be disclosed after
taking the views of concerned officials as per the provisions of the RTI Act.

 In case of Ram Bhaj v. Delhi Government, the appellant sought information about the
guidelines issued by the Department of Personnel and Training regarding the disposal of public
grievances within a specified time frame. The CIC directed the Delhi Government to inform
the common man about the timeframe required to redress their grievances.

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 CONCLUSION

Since its inception in 2005, exactly 10 years have passed and one can safely say that RTI has
made its impact felt in the functioning of Government bodies and the larger governance
discourse, as the staff has become active, conscious, regular, punctual, accountable and
responsible. The corruption in the division is reduced. Big scams have been averted by the
use of RTI. People do feel more empowered. Their bargaining power vis-a-vis public
officials has increased manifold. A great change has come in India in the last decade in the
power equation between the sovereign citizens and those in power. This change is just the
beginning and if it can be sustained and strengthened, our defective elective democracy could
metamorphose into a truly participatory democracy within the next one or two decades. Thus
the impact of RTI in good governance is palpable.

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

 BOOKS
 Dr. J.N Pandey, The Constitutional Law of India, Central Law Agency, 46th
Edition, 2009
 Dr. K. P. Malik, Dr. K.C. Raval, Law and Social Transformation In India, 3rd
Edition, 2012

 WEBSITES
 .http://rti.gov.in/rticorner/studybypwc/progress_made.pdf
 .http://rti.gov.in/manu_moudgil_rti_fellowship_report.pdfhttps://d.docs.live.ne
t/f20a4b5fbb41f16f/Desktop/OpenOffice%204.1.9%20(en-
US)%20Installation%20Files
 https://docs.manupatra.in/newsline/articles/Upload/AC9CD2C7-B8AD-4C5A-
B910-
3751BFE5CB28.pdfhttps://d.docs.live.net/f20a4b5fbb41f16f/Desktop/OpenOf
fice%204.1.9%20(en-US)%20Installation%20Files

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