CHAPTER 17- RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT, 2005

Introduction: Right to Information Act, 2005 came into force on the 12th October, 2005 (120th day of its enactment on 15th
June, 2005). The Act extends to the whole of India.
This Act gives the citizens a right to seek information at par with the Members of Parliament and the Members of State
Legislatures. The Right to Information Act was brought forth to improve the flow of information from the state machinery
to the common man and to increase accountability of bureaucrats for their actions.

Practical Application areas:

The RTI Act mandates that any Indian citizen is free to seek any information from any public or government authority and
the authority is under liability to respond to such a request within a period of 30 days from the date of receiving such an
application. However, the information sought must not be related to defense, national security, or personal details.

Important Definitions:
1. INFORMATION MEANS 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. [S. 2(f)]

2. RIGHT TO INFORMATION MEANS Right to information means right to information held by a public authority as
accessible under the Act and includes the right to — (i) inspect works, documents, records. (ii) take notes, extracts or
certified copies of documents or records. (iii) take certified samples of material. (iv) obtain information in the form of
printouts, diskettes, floppies, tapes, video cassettes or in any other electronic mode or through printouts. [S. 2(j)]

3. PUBLIC AUTHORITY MEANS Any authority or body or institution of self-government established or constituted: by
or under the Constitution; by any other law made by Parliament; by any other law made by State Legislature; by notification
issued or order made by the appropriate Government and includes any body owned, controlled or substantially
financed non-Government organization substantially financed directly or indirectly by the appropriate Government. [S.
2(h)].

4. THIRD PARTIES A third party means a person other than the citizen making a request for information and includes
a public authority. Third parties have a right to be heard in respect of applications and appeals dealing with information
submitted by them to the Government in confidence. [S.2(n) and S.11]

5. PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICERS PIOs are officers designated by the public authorities in all administrative units or
offices under it to provide information to the citizens requesting for information under the Act.

Important Questions:
1. Who has the right to seek information?
Only citizens of India can ask for information under the RTI Act. Artificial legal persons such as corporations, associations,
and companies, societies are legal entities, but not citizens. As such, artificial legal persons cannot ask for information as a
matter of right. However, an application can be made by an officer of such artificial legal persons (provided the applicant is
an Indian citizen) in his own name. In such cases, it would be presumed that a citizen has sought information at the address
of the corporation etc.
2. Who can be asked for information?
Information under RTI act can be asked from all government departments, public offices and government officers, including
those appointed under the constitution – such as the President of India, the Prime Minister of India, Members of Parliament,
Chief Justice of India, etcetera. Further, any institution formed by an act of Parliament, or by an act of a state legislature, by
order or notification of the government falls within the purview of RTI. Also, bodies which are owned, controlled or
substantially financed by the government and NGOs which are substantially financed by the government are also covered
by the Act. However, the right to seek information from a public authority is not absolute. There are certain organisations
and certain types of information that are exempt from the scope of the RTI Act.

3. What information can be asked for?

The RTI Act allows citizens to ask for records, documents, circulars, contracts, reports, papers, emails, memos and all other
information held in print or electronic form from any public authority by following the prescribed procedure. This right
includes physical inspection of work, documents and records; taking notes, extracts or certified copies of documents or
records; and taking certified samples of material held by the public authority or held under the control of the public
authority. As a general rule, all information can be sought by making an application under the RTI Act with the relevant
department.

4. What information can’t be asked for?

The Right to Information Act provides for some exceptions where the information can be withheld. There are ten types of
exception that have been mention in this Act where data may be withheld, they are:
 Concerning Sovereignty and Integrity of India: Information, that when disclosed, would prejudicially affect the
sovereignty and the integrity of India, the security, strategic, scientific or economic interests of the State, relation with
foreign State or lead to incitement of an offence.
 Contempt of Court: Information which has been expressly forbidden or not allowed to be published/ prevented by any
court of law or tribunal or the disclosure of which may constitute Contempt of Court.
 Breach of Privilege of Parliament/ State Legislature: Information, which when disclosed, would cause a breach of
privilege of the Parliament or the State Legislature.
 Trade and Commerce Secret and Intellectual Property: Information that includes commercial confidence or trade
secrets and intellectual property, the disclosure of which would harm the competitive position of a third party, unless
the competent authority is satisfied that a substantial public interest warrants the disclosure of such information.
 Information Available in Fiduciary Relationship: Information available to an individual in his fiduciary relationship,
unless the competent authority is satisfied that the more significant public interest warrants the Disclosure of such
information.
 Confidential Information received from Foreign Governments: Information collected in confidence from any foreign
government.
 Life and Physical Safety of any person: Information, the disclosure of which would cause endangerment to the presence
or physical safety of any individual or identify the source of information or assistance given in confidence for law
enforcement or security purposes.
 Issues under Investigation: Information which would obstruct the process of investigation or apprehension or
prosecution of offenders.
 Cabinet Papers and similar: Cabinet papers that include the records of deliberations of the Council of Ministers,
Secretaries and other Officers.
 Provided that the decisions of the Council of Ministers, the reasons thereof, and the material by which the
decisions were taken shall be made public after the decisions have been received and the matter is complete, or
over.
 Provided further that that matter which comes under the exemptions that were specified under this section shall
not be disclosed.

Important Concepts:
1. Applying for RTI
Applying for RTI is a simple process and can be done either online or offline. Nevertheless, some states have not still affected
the online option. One can apply for RTI through the official website of the RTI. For different states and departments, the
rules for filing RTI are different.
2. RTI Maharashtra - Offline Method to File Application
1. Identify the department to which your RTI Maharashtra query should be sent: carefully identify which department you
wish to extract the information from. For eg, all civic issues like water problem, garbage, street lights, building
 permission in cities are under respective corporations. For instance, for a city like Pune or Nagpur it is the municipal
corporation of the city - Pune Mahanagarpalika / Nagpur Municipal Corporation, respectively.
2. Write your questions in the Application: make sure you follow the proper format of the application as prescribed by
the Government of Maharashtra.You can write the application in Marathi or English language and will get the reply in
Marathi or English. There is a separate format for RTI Form in Marathi. Also remember, the total number of words in
your RTI Application from Maharashtra must not be more than 150.
3. Pay the fees for your RTI Maharashtra Application: As per the Maharashtra Government, the application fee for RTI
Maharashtra is Rs. 10/-. Attach the fee in the form of Court Fee Stamp.
4. Submit the application: Once the above mentioned steps are taken care of, you need to simply send your application
via speed post or registered post

3. Online Method to File Application: Visit the-https://rtionline.gov.in/index.php for filing an online RTI application.
(Applicable to the whole India)

4. Time Period for Supply of Information

In normal course, information to an applicant is to be supplied within 30 days from the receipt of application by the public
authority.
 If information sought concerns the life or liberty of a person, it shall be supplied within 48 hours.
 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.

5. Penal Provisions
Every PIO will be liable for fine of Rs. 250 per day, up to a maximum of Rs. 25,000/- for : not accepting an application;
delaying information release without reasonable cause; malafidely denying information; knowingly giving incomplete,
incorrect, misleading information; destroying information that has been requested; and obstructing furnishing of
information in any manner.

6. Jurisdiction of Courts
Lower Courts are barred from entertaining suits or applications against any order made under this Act. However, the writ
jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and High Courts under Articles 32 and 225 of the Constitution remains unaffected.

Case laws
The Adarsh Housing Society Scam
What was meant to be a six-storey building for the widows of Kargil war heroes, turned into a 31-storey high-rise called
Adarsh Housing Society. Located in Mumbai’s posh residential area Colaba, it soon became the abode of politicians,
bureaucrats, and top military officers. The nexus was exposed by RTI activists Simpreet Singh and Yogacharya Anandji. The
expose revealed that the piece of land did not belong to the state government but to the Ministry of Defence and culminated
in the resignation of Ashok Chavan, the then chief minister of Maharashtra.

The very famous 2G Scam

The 2G scam or the telecom sector scandal, which took place in the UPA regime, revolved around the government auctioning
the 2G spectrum. Top ministers had allegedly colluded to undercharge certain mobile phone companies while allocating the
frequencies, in exchange for a bribe. This reportedly cost the exchequer a whopping Rs 1.76 lakh crore. The massive abuse
of power came to light when an RTI was filed by activist Subhash Chandra Agrawal. Several big names were involved in the
scam including former Telecom Minister A Raja and DMK leader Kanimozhi.

Self Mastery
Mention different documents required for registration of RTI Complaint