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42-422: The IAC popular movement which began in 2007 as a Hindutva affiliated movement for Right to Information activists concerned with exposing Commonwealth Games and other "scams", expanded as part of a larger wave of demonstrations and protests from 2010. which hoped to bring about a corruption-free India. The campaign gained strength through social media , building a massive network of supporters. Initially Ramdev ,

84-624: A Fundamental Right in the Constitution of India , it protects the fundamental rights to Freedom of Expression and Speech under Article 19(1)(a) and Right to Life and Personal Liberty under Article 21 guaranteed by the Constitution. The authorities under RTI Act 2005 are called public authorities. The Public Information Officer (PIO) or the First Appellate Authority in the public authorities perform quasi judicial function of deciding on

126-480: A ban on filing RTI inquiries took place, noted NGO Mahiti Adhikar Gujarat Pahel, also stating that no provision in the act allowed for the blacklisting of applicants. Scholars argue that the Right to Information Act's original intent to make government transparent and accountable is faltering as RTI requests are rejected and the bureaucratic systems are bogged down by thousands of requests. Many RTIs are rejected because

168-569: A broad range of social issues, including "land and environmental rights, social security benefits, the working of financial institutions, political party financing reform, civic infrastructure, and even public-private partnerships". As per section 24 of the Act, intelligence and security organisations, both central and state, are exempted from the RTI Act except in cases of corruption or human rights violation. Such central organisations are listed in schedule 2 of

210-523: A populist Indian yogi seemed to be the figurehead for this campaign but his connections to the right-wing Sangh Parivar threatened to damage the credibility of what was perceived as an apolitical movement. This led to IAC's managers substituting him as centrepiece by Anna Hazare whose connections to Sangh Parivar were less obvious. Hazare's support base is described by Meera Nanda as being largely "from urban middle-classes and idealistic youth". The urban support for Hazare attracted high-profile support for

252-439: A prohibited government site or area like an electrical substation . According to this Act, helping the enemy state can be in the form of communicating a sketch, plan, model of an official secret, or of official codes or passwords , to the enemy. Punishments under the Act range from three years to life imprisonment (if the intent is to declare war against India - section 5). A person prosecuted under this Act can be charged with

294-428: Is also defined in the Act that bodies or authorities established or constituted by order or notification of appropriate government including bodies "owned, controlled or substantially financed" by government, or non-Government organizations "substantially financed, directly or indirectly by funds". Private bodies are not within the act's purview. In a decision of Sarbjit Roy vs Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission ,

336-460: Is made up of a State Chief Information Commissioner (SCIC) and up to 10 State Information Commissioners (SIC). The Governor appoints the members of the SIC on the recommendation of a committee. Public authorities and government departments are required to appoint a State Public Information Officer (SPIO) and an appellate authority. The SPIO is the initial point of contact for citizens seeking information under

378-622: Is now a group of intellectuals after Arvind Kejriwal took all the aam aadmis (common folk) to politics. The denuded Team Anna's sporadic claims to the India Against Corruption name for political purposes was regularly disputed by the India Against Corruption organization which stated These persons are imposters of IAC who are misusing our name for electioneering purposes. IAC is a non-political body, and we strongly object to utilisation of our well known name in connection with Mr. Anna Hazare or for political motives. Gen (Retd.) V.K.Singh

420-504: Is the initial contact for citizens who request information under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. If a citizen is dissatisfied with the response provided by the State Public Information Officer (SPIO), they may file an appeal with the designated Appellate Authority. The State Information Commission (SIC) is an autonomous body, that is established by state governments to ensure the public's right to information. The SIC

462-636: The Central Information Commission also reaffirmed that privatised public utility companies fall within the purview of RTI. As of 2014, private institutions and NGOs receiving over 95% of their infrastructure funds from the government come under the Act. The Central Information Commission (CIC) held that the political parties are public authorities and are answerable to citizens under the RTI Act. The CIC said that eight national parties - Congress , BJP , NCP , CPI(M) , CPI , BSP , NPP and AITC - has been substantially funded indirectly by

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504-404: The Act, search warrants may be issued at any time if the magistrate determines that based on the evidence there is enough danger to the security of the state. Uninterested members of the public may be excluded from court proceedings if the prosecution feels that any information which is going to be passed on during the proceedings is sensitive. This also includes media. When a company is seen as

546-544: The Act. The schedule has been amended four times, in September 2005, March 2008, October 2008 and May 2021. Official Secrets Act 1923 The Official Secrets Act of 1923 is India 's anti- espionage act held over from the British colonial period . It states clearly that actions which involve helping an enemy state against India are strongly condemned. It also states that one cannot approach, inspect, or even pass over

588-564: The Central Government and have the character of public authorities under the RTI Act as they perform public functions. But in August 2013 the government introduced a Right To Information (Amendment) Bill which would remove political parties from the scope of the law. Currently no parties are under the RTI Act and a case has been filed for bringing all political parties under it. The Right to Information Act 2019 passed on 25 July 2019 modified

630-703: The Delhi High Court bringing the office of Chief Justice of India under the purview of the Right to Information (RTI) Act. The Right to information in India is governed by two major bodies: Chief Information commissioner who heads all the central departments and ministries- with their own public Information officers (PIO)s. CICs are directly under the President of India. The public authorities and departure under Union government of India are required to designate Central Public Information Officer and appellate authority. The CPIO

672-470: The Jan Lokpal. Welcoming Anna's Jantantra Morcha initiative in 2015, National convener of India Against Corruption, Sarabjit Roy said IAC has nothing against Anna since he was never officially a part of IAC nor was he a leader of the movement. IAC's concerns were that Anna is misled into associations with projects and people that he shouldn't be with and Anna was then in the company of scoundrels. As per Roy, IAC

714-618: The Official Secrets Act 1923, against The Hindu newspaper, which had published the papers. He claimed that the documents pertaining to the purchase of Rafale jets published by the media are genuine Justice Joseph one, of the three judges on the bench, asked the government about Right to Information Act 2005, Section 22 having an overriding effect on official secrets act and section 24 of RTI which mandates even security and intelligence organisations to disclose information on corruption and human rights violations. Finally, section 8(2) compels

756-517: The Official Secrets Act were registered in the country since 2014. Of these 50 cases, 30 were registered in 2016, nine in 2015 and 11 in 2014 according to Union Minister of state for Home Hansraj Ahir. Of the 30 cases registered in 2016, eight were lodged in Tamil Nadu, followed by five each in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. Attorney General KK Venugopal told the three-judge bench that the government could invoke

798-587: The RTI overrides OSA. In June 2002, journalist Iftikhar Gilani was, arrested for violating the OSA 1923. He was charged under the OSA, with a case under the Obscenity Act added to it. The first military report suggested that the information he was accused of holding was "secret" despite being publicly available. The second military intelligence report contradicted this, stating that there was no "official secret". Even after this,

840-522: The Right to Information (RTI) Act. If a citizen is dissatisfied with the SPIO's response, they can file an appeal with the appellate authority. As a final recourse, citizens can appeal to the State Information Commission.. The SPIO office is directly under the corresponding State Governor. State Information Commissions are independent bodies and Central Information Commission has no jurisdiction over

882-545: The State Information Commission. List of SICs: A citizen who desires to seek some information from a public authority is required to send, along with the application (a Postal order or DD ( Demand draft ) or a bankers cheque) or a court stamp payable to the Accounts Officer of the public authority as fee prescribed for seeking information. If the person is from a disadvantaged community, he/she need not pay. The applicant may also be required to pay further fee towards

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924-453: The acts and functionaries of the public authorities. There is a consensus felt that there is a need to amend the RTI Act to provide for the protection of those seeking information under the Act . The Asian Centre for Human Rights recommends that a separate chapter, "Protection of those seeking information under the (RTI) Act", be inserted into the Act. Protection measures suggested include: Many civil society members have recently alleged

966-455: The age of 65, whichever is earlier). Finally in Ashwanee K. Singh's case on 20 September 2020, it is stabilised that right to information is a fundamental right. The Act extends to the whole of India. It covers all the constitutional authorities, including executive, legislature and judiciary; any institution or body established or constituted by an act of Parliament or a state legislature. It

1008-622: The application and appeal respectively. This act was enacted in order to consolidate the fundamental right in the Indian constitution 'freedom of speech'. Since RTI is implicit in the Right to Freedom of Speech and Expression under Article 19 of the Indian Constitution, it is an implied fundamental right. Information disclosure in India had traditionally been restricted by the Official Secrets Act 1923 and various other special laws, which

1050-575: The bureaucratic requirements (including the technocratic language used) of filing are too onerous and legalistic for ordinary citizens. Sixty percent of the RTI appeals made to Information Commissioners in Delhi are rejected for a variety of reasons, including that appeals are not typed or not written in English, or lack an index of the papers attached or a list of date. This bureaucratic barrier, worse for those without access to higher education or information, makes

1092-496: The campaign from Bollywood stars, the internet-savvy, and mainstream English-language news media. In 2012, the IAC began to disassociate from Hazare's followers (then popularly known as "Team Anna"). On 3 August 2012, the deep differences of opinion among the central figures of the anti-corruption protest spilled into the public domain. Arvind Kejriwal 's faction conducted an online survey which suggested that direct involvement in politics

1134-399: The citizens need minimum recourse to request information formally. The RTI Bill was passed by Parliament of India on 15 June 2005 and came into force with effect from 12 October 2005. Every day on average, over 4800 RTI applications are filed. In the first ten years of the commencement of the act, over 17,500,000 applications had been filed. Although Right to Information is not included as

1176-507: The cost of providing the information, details of which shall be intimated to the applicant by the PIO (Public Information Officer) as prescribed by the RTI ACT. A digital portal has been set up, RTI Portal , a gateway to the citizens for quick search of information on the details of first Appellate Authorities, PIOs etc. amongst others, besides access to RTI related information disclosures published on

1218-509: The crime even if the action was unintentional and not intended to endanger the security of the state. The Act only empowers persons in positions of authority to handle official secrets, and others who handle it in prohibited areas or outside them are liable for punishment. Journalists have to help members of the police forces above the rank of the sub-Inspector and members of the military with investigations regarding an offense, up to and including revealing his sources of information. Under

1260-554: The former Freedom of Information Act, 2000. Under the provisions of RTI Act, any citizen of India may request information from a "public authority" (a body of Government or "instrumentality of State") which is required to reply expeditiously or within thirty days. In case of the matter involving a petitioner's life and liberty, the information has to be provided within 48 hours. The Act also requires every public authority to computerize their records for wide dissemination and to proactively publish certain categories of information so that

1302-513: The government denied the opinion of the military and was on the verge of challenging it when the contradictions were exposed in the press. The military reported that "the information contained in the document is easily available" and "the documents carry no security classified information and the information seems to have been gathered from open sources ". On 13 January 2004, the government withdrew its case against him to prevent two of its ministries from having to give contradictory opinions. Gilani

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1344-532: The new RTI Act overrides. Right to Information codifies a fundamental right of the citizens of India. RTI has proven to be very useful, but is counteracted by the Whistle Blowers Protection Act, 2011 . The Right to Information (Amendment) Bill, 2019, seeks to amend Sections 13, 16, and 27 of the RTI Act. Section 13 of the original Act: It sets the term of the central Chief Information Commissioner and Information Commissioners at five years (or until

1386-586: The offender under this Act, everyone involved with the management of the company, including the board of directors, can be liable for punishment. In the case of a newspaper, everyone – including the editor , publisher and the proprietor — can be imprisoned for an offense. OSA is controversial to the modern RTI Act of 2005 . In the OSA clause 6, information from any governmental office is considered official information, hence it can be used to override Right to Information Act 2005 requests. This has drawn harsh criticism. The Supreme Court of India has also held that

1428-498: The powers of the act by ruling publication of a document merely labelled "secret" shall not render the journalist liable under the law. Saikia was arrested in February 2015 in another case that the police said involved the writing of stories and analyses from documents allegedly stolen from the government. He was released on bail in May after spending 80 days in jail. 50 cases of violation of

1470-486: The right to information inaccessible. Many citizens have to seek out NGOs, RTI activists, or lawyers, to file their RTIs. Many activists view the Right to Information Act as a final liberation from British colonialism; they describe the RTI law as "a tool for empowering ordinary citizens and changing the culture of governance by making it transparent, less corrupt, participatory, and accountable". They also note that RTI requests provide strategy and substance for activists on

1512-488: The state hampered the citizen's right to know. Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) data points to over 310 cases across India where people were either attacked, physically or mentally harassed or had their property damaged because of the information they sought under RTI. The data throws up over 50 alleged murders and two suicides that were directly linked with RTI applications filed. R.T.I. Act 2005 applies to both central as well as state governments. It also covers

1554-464: The subversion of the right to information Act by the invocation of Intellectual Property rights argument by the government agencies from time to time. Most notable are: Gujarat State Information Commission banned 10 people from filing RTI queries, citing that these people were "harassing government officials" by filing multiple queries with "malafide intentions". This was the first time in Gujarat that

1596-445: The terms and conditions of service of the CIC and Information Commissioners at the centre and in states. It had been criticized as watering down the independence of the information commissions, namely by empowering the government to fix the term of service and salaries of information commissioners. Supreme Court judgement Supreme Court of India on 13 November 2019, upheld the decision of

1638-606: The web by various Public Authorities under the government of India as well as the State Governments. It is an initiative taken by Department of Personnel and Training , Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions . The Right to information in India has been mired with controversies ranging from their use in political battles, asking for educational degrees of political rivals, or cases of blatant refusals to provide information on high-profile projects to allegations of misuse by civil society. The backlash against RTI by

1680-491: Was never associated with India Against Corruption and neither was Mr. Anna Hazare a part of it. Referring to them in the context of IAC is misleading especially in context of political activity." Right to Information The Right to Information ( RTI ) is an act of the Parliament of India & Delhi Legislative Assembly which sets out the rules and procedures regarding citizens' right to access information. It replaced

1722-628: Was preferable, leading to their exit to form the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). On 5 August 2012 Hazare rejected the survey findings and announced he was disbanding Team Anna. In November 2012 Hazare said that he was forming a new Team Anna 2.0 which would have a new office in New Delhi and use the label India against Corruption. Eventually Team Anna instead adopted the name Jantantra Morcha after the India Against Corruption name owners swiftly took it over to focus instead on Right to Information issues instead of

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1764-720: Was released the same month. After reviewing the provisions of the act, the Union Home Ministry in July 2017 submitted a report to the Cabinet secretariat. The goal was to amend the act to make it more transparent and in line with the Right to Information Act, 2005 . A Delhi court in a 2009 judgement, in a case involving the publication of excerpts of a cabinet note in the Financial Express ten years earlier by Santanu Saikia, greatly reduced

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