This article is written by Rajeshwari M V, pursuing Certificate Course in Introduction to Legal Drafting: Contracts, Petitions, Opinions & Articles from LawSikho.
Table of Contents
Introduction
The Right to Information Act, 2005, hereinafter referred to as “RTI”, is a revolutionary act that aims at promoting transparency and accountability in government institutions in India. The Act was enacted on 22nd June, 2005 and it came into force on 12th October, 2005, and has been implemented ever since to provide information to crores of Indian citizens. Every responsible citizen needs to be aware of this right and how to use it. All the constitutional authorities come under this Act, making it one of the most powerful laws of the country. This Act is extended to all over India including Jammu and Kashmir.
It is termed revolutionary because it opens government organizations up for scrutiny, equipped with knowledge about RTI, a common man can demand any government agency to furnish information. This Act empowers every citizen to seek any information from central or state government, panchayati raj institution, the parliament, state legislation and other organizations and institutions including NGOs, controlled or substantially financed directly or indirectly by the government and Courts of law. In fact, the Supreme Court recently ruled that even the office of the Chief Justice of India is covered by RTI.
As stated in Section 2 (n) of the RTI Act, 2005, ‘third party’ means a person other than the citizen making a request for information and includes a ‘public authority’. Public authorities have designated some of its officers as Public Information Officers. The power is vested in the public information officer, they are responsible to give information to a person who seeks information under the RTI Act.
Evolution of RTI in India
- 1975: Supreme Court observed in the landmark case of State of UP v/s Raj Narain that Right to Information is implied in the right to freedom of speech and expression (Article 19(1)) and right to life and personal liberty (Article.21)
- 1990: Social movement for RTI, first by Mazdoor Kisan Shakthi Sangathan (MKSS) in Rajasthan, which organized “Jan Sunwai” as community audit and accountability of public works by local government.
- Later on, the RTI movement was joined by many NGOs, civil society, people’s union for civil liberties, the association for democratic reforms, etc. Arvind Kejriwal and Aruna Roy were prominent RTI activists.
- The Rajasthan Government enacted RTI in 1999, many state governments such as; Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Goa, Karnataka, MP, J & K, Assam, Maharashtra followed Rajasthan and enacted RTI during 2000-2004.
- The 5th Central Pay Commission in 1997 and 2nd Administration Reform Commissioning 2002 also advocated Right to Information.
- 1997: Central Government set up a working group on Right to Information and Transparency.
- 2000: Freedom of Information Bill was tabled in Parliament, but couldn’t be enacted.
- December, 2002: Finally, the Freedom of Information Bill was enacted but was not made operational.
- 2005: The new Right to Information Bill was tabled in Parliament and was enacted, the old freedom of information Act was repealed. Finally in October, 2005, the RTI was made operational.
The basic objective: Good governance
Good governance will be achieved only when the public authority is:
The main aim of RTI is to provide clarity of the information to its citizens to contain corruption and promote accountability in the working of every public authority and also to grant freedom to its citizens in order to seek information from the government. By virtue of the RTI Act citizens can put their eye on the above-noted essentials of good governance.
Essentials of RTI applications
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Eligibility
Section 1(2) says that this Act applies throughout India. Previously this act extended to the whole of India except Jammu and Kashmir but now it is enforceable to the newly created union territory after the removal of Article 370 and 35 A.
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Format of RTI application
There is no prescribed format of application for seeking information. It can be made on a plain paper. But it must have the name and complete postal address of the applicant.
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Language of RTI application
It can be made either in Hindi or English or any official area of that particular area.
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Fees charged
Rs.10 is paid in the form of either cash, bank draft, money order or a court fee stamp to file the request. The stamp needs to be on the application. Applicants below the poverty line (BPL) need not make the payment but have to attach a copy of the BPL certificate along with the application.
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Time limit
A fixed time of 30 days is given to provide information. But under section 7(1) if the information is concerned with the life and liberty of a person, in that case, the information shall be provided within 48 hours of the receipt of the request.
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Information
Under section 2(f) information can be demanded in any form may it be in the form of records, documents, e-mails, opinions, advice, press releases, circulars, logbooks, contracts, reports, papers, 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.
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Governed by two major bodies
For the enforcement of RTI, the government established two major bodies. They are the Central Information Commission constituted under Sub-section (1) of Section 12 and State Information Commission under Sub-section (1) of Section 15.
Who can ask for information under RTI?
Any citizen can ask for information under these laws. Whenever an applicant wants to seek any information regarding any government organization or any ongoing program or any public authority etc., can go for filing an RTI application. The Act extends to the whole of India including Jammu and Kashmir, Overseas Citizen of India (OCI’s) and Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) cardholders can also ask for information under the RTI Act.
For citizens, OCI’s and PIO’s who are staying out of India, the RTI application can be filed with the PIO of the local Indian Embassy/Consulate/High Commission and they will inform you regarding the amount of application fee in local currency as well as the mode of payment.
When can an RTI application be filed?
Though RTI enables citizens to obtain information from a public authority, it has become an important tool for redressal of public grievances. In case of grievance or unattended issues, the affected person/citizen may ask for information about the status of the matter, decisions or non-decisions on the issues, etc.
This makes the concerned authority conscious of the public scrutiny of the matter. The authority, while replying to RTI, attempts to sort out the public grievance or highlight this to his superior.
For example, suppose a citizen, though eligible, was not given benefits of PM Awas Yojna, when he files an RTI application seeking details of the beneficiary in his village and decision criteria for selection, the authorities become aware of the issue and try to solve that.
Thus, RTI has become a very important tool and mechanism for redressal of public grievances.
Exemption from disclosure of information
Information related to national security, strategic matters for the state, foreign relation, incitement to offence, contempt of court, commercial interest, trade secret, third party personal information intellectual property rights, information related to physical safety and life of anyone, cabinet papers (Section 8(1)). The above information can only be disclosed if the public interest in disclosure overweighs the harm to the protected interest (Section 8 (2)).
On what grounds RTI application can be rejected
It can be rejected under Section 8(1) and Section 9.
- Central Public Information Officer or State Public Information Officer can reject the receipt of the request if the information demanded affects the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security, strategic, scientific or economic interests of the country.
- It can be rejected if the information demanded leads to disclosure of information related to India’s relation with a foreign country or leads to incitement of an offence.
- Under Section 9, Central Public Information Officer or State Public Information Officer may reject a request for information that would involve an infringement of copyright of any private sector.
Why is third party information not allowed?
Section 11 of the Act provides the procedure of disclosure of ‘third party’ information. According to it, if a Public Information Officer (PIO) intends to disclose information or record relates to a third party and has been treated as confidential by that third party, the PIO within 5 days from the receipt of the request, the PIO before taking a decision to disclose the information shall give written notice to such third party of request, shall invite the third party to make a submission in writing or orally, regarding whether the information should be disclosed. Such submission of the third party shall be kept in view while taking a decision about the disclosure of information.
The third party within 10 days from the date of receipt of such notice, be given the opportunity to make representation against the proposed disclosure. The PIO within 40 days after receipt of the request, make a decision as to whether or not to disclose the information or record or part thereof related to the third party and give in writing the notice of his decision to the third party. The PIO cannot disclose such information unless the procedure prescribed in Section 11 is completed.
What can one do upon such rejection?
There is a fundamental difference between RTI requests and RTI appeals.
RTI request is filing an application for the first time. The request is made by the citizen to one person (i.e., PIO) to provide information. This means that it involves only the citizen and PIO.
RTI appeal is an appeal before a senior officer against the decision of the PIO. This means that here, a third person (i.e., Appellate Authority) comes between the citizen and the PIO.
This means RTI request is the application process while RTI appeal is the appellate procedure against the decision on RTI application.
The appeal is only filed when the citizen is not satisfied with the reply of PIO or PIO rejects the citizen’s request for information.
Steps for filing RTI first appeal
When will the RTI first appeal be made?
Within the stipulated time to apply for information, if the public information officer did not provide information or provide incomplete information or provide the wrong information or did not give a written answer as to why the information was not provided, then applicants can make the first appeal within 30 days or citing reasons, the first appeal can be made even after 30 days. In other words, within 40 days of applying for the information, if the public information officer did not provide the information or provide incomplete information or gave the wrong information or did not give a written answer as to why the information was not provided, then 30days from this date or even citing reasons after 30 days, the first appeal can be made.
Where to apply?
Every government office has a public information officer or PIO, so similarly the person who heads the office or organization is the first appellate officer for that office. If the head office of that is located at the block or district level then the chief officer of that office is the first appellate authority to submit the RTI first appeal application to her/him.
How to apply?
This requires applying in a prescribed form. Paste a court fee of Rs.20 on this form. Though, court fees as set forth, so your case will be heard as a judicial type here. Applicants must be present at the hearing to provide a view or support.
Where can you get the application form?
This form is usually found in stamp vendors or magazine stores, xerox shops, etc. You can get this form from there. If not, enter your WhatsApp number in the comment box and this form will be sent to you.
How long will the hearing be?
The first appeals officer will hear the case within 30 days and announce his decision. He can take 45 days to hear it if necessary. The date and time of the hearing will be announced on his behalf. As stated earlier, the petitioner/applicant must be present on the day of the hearing to provide a view or support.
If the applicant is not satisfied with the decision of the first appellate officer, he or she may apply to the State Information Commission within 90 days from the date of the decision or 90 days after giving the appropriate reason.
Steps for filing RTI final appeal
When will the RTI final appeal be made?
If the applicant is not satisfied with the decision of the first appellate authority, the applicant can finally appeal within 90 days or the final appeal may be made after 90 days with appropriate reason.
Where to apply?
The final appeal must be made to the State Information Commission. So we need to submit the final appeal form to his/her office.
How to apply?
This requires applying in a prescribed form. Paste a court fee of Rs.25 on this form. The case will be heard as a judicial type. The petitioner may be present at the hearing, either by a lawyer or by a representative on his behalf. Yet, if he may not be present there, there will be no problem with his hearing.
Where can you get the application form?
This form is usually found in stamp vendors or magazine stores, xerox shops, etc. You can get this form from there. If not, enter your WhatsApp number in the comment box and this form will be sent to you.
How long will the hearing be?
No specific deadline has been set as to how long the Commission will take to hear. The date and time of the hearing will be announced on his behalf. The Commission’s decision will be taken as a final decision. If the commission feels that the Public Information Officer or PIO has knowingly or maliciously not provided the information or given incomplete or incorrect information. So the Information Commission can fine a public information officer (PIO) up to Rs.25,000/- which the public information officer has to pay out of his/her pocket.
Significant case laws
Kausa Education & Charitable Trust & Ors. V.S. Maharashtra State Information Commission & Ors.
The petitioner claimed that the school run by the trust is a private unaided one and, therefore, it is not a public authority under the RTI Act. The authority has answered this issue in its favour and its concurrent findings have not been questioned by the respondent who sought information. The appellate authority, however, directed Education Officer (Secondary) to gather the information from the petitioners and to supply it, respondent no. 5, an ex-employee is sought to be achieved indirectly, thereby the powers or jurisdiction under the RTI Act are being exceeded and legal rights of the petitioner are violated.
The Hon’ble Bombay High Court held that a direction by respondent no. 1 in its order dated 10th February 2012 cannot be viewed as excessive. The contention that what is directly prohibited has been achieved indirectly through such a direction or course of action is misconceived and unsustainable. However, the petitioner has not been given a necessary opportunity of hearing before passing of impugned order. The impugned order passed without hearing the petitioners is unsustainable.
Puneet Kumar v/s State Information Commission, Haryana and Ors
The petitioner had filed an application before the State Public Information Officer-cum-District Education Officer, Hisar seeking information pertaining to different public schools in Haryana regarding their affiliation; area and size of the schools in square meter; attested copies of NOC of fire safety certificate for last three years. The appeal filed by the petitioner has been dismissed on the ground that the information sought for by the petitioner, is related to the private schools which are neither Government aided institutions nor in receipt of any grant from the Government and are not covered under RTI Act. The petitioner submitted that the said observation regarding private schools being not covered under RTI Act is contrary to the statutory provisions as the private schools are under the supervision of the District Education Officer which is a statutory authority as such information sought for by the petitioner should have been provided under the provisions of RTI Act.
The Hon’ble High Court of Punjab and Haryana held that it is apparently personal information regarding the third party which is being sought for by the petitioner. There is no infirmity in the order passed by the State Information Commissioner.
Conclusion
The basic object of the Right to Information Act is to empower the citizens, promote transparency and accountability in the working of the government and make our democracy work for the people in a real sense. Information can be demanded in any form and it is the duty of the Public Information Officer to study the Act carefully and understand its provisions correctly and deliver the information. Some information that is confidential in nature and is not provided to the public can be excluded. Otherwise, all information is disclosed. Thus, RTI has become a very important tool and mechanism for redressal of public grievances.
References
[2] https://righttoinformation.wiki/explanations/third-party
[3] https://onlinerti.com/about-rti
[4] https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/rti-and-third-party-info
[5] https://indiankanoon.org/doc/671631/
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