India
got Independence in 1947 and proclaimed itself a Republic in 1950, with a great
Constitution. However, in practice, a brown elite replaced the white masters and Swaraj did not come. Mahatma
Gandhi had said, “Real Swaraj will come not by the acquisition of authority by
a few but by the acquisition of capacity to resist authority when abused.” A
few did acquire the authority and retained it, but the capacity to resist
misuse of authority eluded the average Citizen of India. Right To
Information (RTI) now empowers him to do that.
The Right
To Information is derived from our fundamental right of expression under
Article 19 of the Constitution of India. If we do not have information on how
our Government and Public Institutions function, we cannot express any informed
opinion on it. This has been clearly stated by various Supreme Court judgments,
since 1975. We accept that the freedom of the press is an essential element for
a democracy to function. It is worthwhile to understand the underlying
assumption in this well entrenched belief. Why is the freedom of the media
considered as one of the essential features for a democracy? Democracy revolves
around the basic idea of Citizens being at the center of governance and rule of
the people. We need to define the importance of the concept of freedom of the
press from this fundamental premise. It is obvious that the main reason for a
free press is to ensure that Citizens are informed. This being one of the main
reasons for the primacy given to the freedom of the press, it clearly flows
from this, that the Citizens Right To Know is paramount. Since the Government
is run on behalf of the people, they are the rightful owners who have a right
to be informed directly. Justice Mathew ruled in the Raj Narain case, “In a
government of responsibility like ours, where all the agents of the public must
be responsible for their conduct, there can be but few secrets. 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. Their 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 repercussion on public security.”
Mazdoor
Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) in the rural areas of Rajasthan first brought RTI
on the agenda of the Nation. Nine States had enacted the Right To
Information Acts across India. On 11 and 12 May, 2005, the two houses of
Parliament passed the Right To Information Act as Act 22 of 2005. This become
operational from 12 October, 2005 - significantly Vijayadashmi.
Right To
Information (RTI) existed since the day the Constitution of India was framed.
The present Act only gives procedures to operationalise this right.
The Importance of RTI
- At
the price of Rs.10, it provides the facility for Citizens to get
information on the Government's actions and decisions. If you send your
application by registered post or courier, the extra cost will be about 10
to 25 Rupees. The cost of getting the information of about five pages
would be Rs. 10/. Even if you add the postage cost of getting the
information the total will be about 70 rupees.
- The
law mandates that the information has to be given within 30 days.
- If a
few thousand Citizens spend about Rs. 70 per month and about an hour in
their own house they can file a new RTI application and get information
about matters, which concern them.
- The
power of getting accountability, reducing corruption, impacting policy
decisions and ensuring better governance is now with us. We missed our
opportunity in 1950, but have another chance now.
- YOU
individually can make a big contribution to getting the Nation we want.
- A
small effort from our own house, can bring Swaraj.
What is information?
Section 2 (f) of the Act defines it thus:
2 (f) "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;
Effectively, this means it has to exist. The word opinions and advices
means those which are on record. This does not mean that the PIO will have to
give his personal opinion, clarification or interpretation which is not on
record.
Right to information is defined under Section 2(j) as :
"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 -
i.
inspection of work, documents, records;
ii.
taking notes, extracts, or certified copies of documents or
records.
iii.
taking certified samples of material;
iv.
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;
Information can be demanded from all Public authorities, ie. all Govt.
bodies and organizations substantially financed by Government including
NGOs and aided schools and Colleges.
The Right To Information Act is a codification of this important right of
Citizens. The right existed since the time India became a republic, but was
difficult to enforce without going to Court. The Act stipulates the following:
- A
time period (30 days) within which information must be provided.
- Method
of giving the information.
- Ten
exemptions of information- Section 8 (1),- which will not be given.
- Citizens
can ask for information by getting photocopies of documents, permissions,
policies and decisions.
- Inspection
of files can also be done and samples can be asked for.
- All
administrative offices of public authorities have to appoint ‘Public
Information Officers (PIO)’ or ‘Assistant Public Information Officer’
- Citizens
apply for information to the Public Information Officer of the concerned
office.
- If
information is not provided or wrongly refused, the Citizen can go in
appeal to an Appellate Authority who would be an official in the same
department, senior to the PIO. The Appellate authority has to give a
decision in 30 days.
- If
this too does not give a satisfactory result, one can appeal to the State
or Central Information Commissioner, which is an independent
Constitutional Authority, established under the Act.
- The
Act provides for a penalty for delay on the PIO at a rate of Rs. 250 per
day of delay, or for malafide denial of information, or giving false
information. In case of information being delayed, no charges for
information are to be paid.
Thus RTI provides for a time bound and defined process for Citizens to
access information about all actions taken by Public authorities. The penal
provisions on the PIO are the real teeth of the Act, which ensure that the PIO
cannot treat Citizen’s demands for information in a cavalier manner.
Each State has the right to frame its rules in terms of fees, procedures
and forms, which have to be in consonance with the Act. The rules can only
specify the application fee, and a set format for applications or appeals. They
can also specify the extra charges for providing the information. The
rules cannot go beyond the Act and have to be in consonance with it.
Commonality between
Maharashtra and Central Government rules:
- Application
fee Rs.10 payable by cash or pay order. Maharashtra also allows payment by
Court fee stamps. For Central Government bodies the 10 rupee application
fee can be paid by an Indian Postal Order in the name of the Accounts
officer of the public authority.
- Maharashtra
has a format for application. The Central Government has no fixed format.
Citizens can use the Maharashtra format for both.
- Charges
for providing information in A4 size paper are Rs.2 per page.
- No
need to get forms from anywhere. Your application can be typed or
handwritten. When sending
handwritten applications ensure that they are easily readable.
- Maharashtra
restricts the words for seeking information to 150. The Central rules have
a word limit of 500 words (excluding annexures and addresses of PIO and
applicant).
A Few types of cases
where this right can be used:
- You
need information on some activity of the Government, or reasons on record
for certain decisions.
- You
know or suspect corruption or wrongdoing in some department or activity.
The mere asking of information sometimes reduces illegal acts, since the
wrongdoers feel restrained or threatened by exposure.
- When
bribes are sought to give your ration card or water connection or an
authority refuses to act on a complaint or FIR.
- You
feel you could suggest improvements, if you have the information.
What do you need to
do:
- Find
out the address of office or department, which is responsible. You can
address your application to the PIO, at that office. All offices are
supposed to have a PIO or APIO. If the application goes to the wrong PIO,
he has to forward it to the correct PIO within five days
- Information
has to exist in the office in some form. Think of how to frame a question
asking for information, which will serve the objective you are trying to
attain.
a. If you wish to know of the policy for reserving or dereserving of
land, ask for a copy of the rules governing it. If you wish to know why a
sports ground is being converted into a commercial complex, ask for the copies
of the correspondence including file notings on this.
b. If you suspect that your application for passport, incometax refund or
ration card is being delayed ask for the action taken status of your
application.
c. If you think a government college is giving admissions arbitrarily,
ask for the list of students admitted with their marks.
d. Vinita Deshmukh inspected records and unearthed the fact that Dow was
setting up manufacturing plant with dangerous chemicals near Pune. Dow had to
withdraw.
Make the RTI application clearly defining the information you are seeking
in Appendix A, sign it and take a photocopy for your record. Send it to the
office from which you are seeking information. If you or your representative is
delivering it personally, get an acknowledgement on the Xerox copy. You can
also send it by speedpost. Some offices cause problems in accepting
hand-delivered requisitions. In such cases speedpost is advisable. For
Maharashtra Government bodies a Court Fee stamp of Rs.10 can be affixed on the
form as payment of application fee. For Central Government Organisations, the
most convenient method is to send a 10 rupee Indian Postal order –available at
most Post offices. Make it payable to ‘Accounts Officer, (name of
organization).
Information, which can be denied
There are some
matters where information can be denied, which are given in Section 8, (1).
Quoting these verbatim from the Act:
