Introduction:
“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…”
-Justice KK Mathew
(State Of U.P vs Raj Narain & Ors on 24 January, 1975)[1]
In a democracy like India, the right to information is a vital need. The Supreme Court has, in many cases, emphasised on the importance of the right to information and the right to know and in several cases, the Supreme Court has upheld that under Part III of the Constitution, the right to information is a fundamental right. Right to information is fundamental in any democratic administration and a sine qua non to good governance and recognition of all other human rights
Therefore, in 2005 the Right to Information Act, 2005 was passed to provide a broad and far-reaching jurisdiction for enabling operative and successful implementation of the fundamental right to information.
Constitutionality of Right to Information
While India’s constitution has no explicit provision guaranteeing the right to information, the Court has recognized it as implied in a multitude of cases in Article 19(1)(a), which guarantees the right to free speech and expression to all people, and Article 21 of the Constitution guaranteeing the right to life to all the citizens in accordance with due process. Therefore, Articles 19(1)(a), 19(2), and 21 of the Constitution of India lay down the foundation of a citizen’s right to obtain information about the Government’s decision.
Objective
The main objectives of the law on RTI are:
a. To operationalise the fundamental right to information;
b. To set up systems and mechanisms that facilitate people’s easy access to information; to promote transparency, and
c. Accountability in governance; to minimize corruption and inefficiency in public offices and
d. To ensure people’s participation in governance and decision making.[2]
Importance and Need
Corruption is an evil which is consuming the integrity of the administrative structure in India resulting in various social, political and financial deterioration. It is known that corruption is an offence that is committed under the veil cover of governance processes. But this Act somehow has become a roadblock and checks for such a corrupt system. RTI Act puts the two most essential instruments ‘transparency and accountability’ together for curbing the evil which still is a major obstacle to good governance. The act also provides the coordination of public interests with the right to information. However, some areas require secrecy for the greater good.
Where it has been felt that certain areas of governance have to be kept outside the purview of the RTI Act, the same has been exempted under the specific provisions envisaged under the Act. Thus, a harmonious balance has been tried. RTI thus became a tool for promoting participatory development, strengthening democratic governance and facilitating effective delivery of socio-economic services. In the knowledge society, in which we live today, acquisition of information and new knowledge and its application have an intense and pervasive impact on processes of making informed decisions, resulting in overall productivity gains.[3]
Why the RTI is not Absolute
The RTI is not absolute and comes with some restrictions. Not all information that the Government generates will or should be given out to the public. Everyone would have some pieces of information, which are so sensitive that if they were released to the public, they might actually cause serious harm to more important interests.
For example, at a time of conflict, if someone wanted to know how many troops were being deployed and where they were being sent, the Government might legitimately want to keep these details secret because if this information fell into the wrong hands, it could pose a great risk to the national security of India. Nevertheless, if someone requested the same information two years after the war, it would be less clear that the information should be kept secret because the likelihood of harm being caused by disclosure would probably be less.[4]
Conclusion
The Right to Information Act was a wonder to behold in a nation that boasted unbreakable barriers between the government and the governed. It was away from the imagination of the common people who were brought up in a cocooned and protected atmosphere of paranoia and lack of transparency that they could simply call for and acquire documents of decisions that critically and significantly affected their lives. And in just seven years, the RTI law has not only infiltrated the citadel that was official India but more unexpectedly, gained a resilience that its authors could not have foreseen.
References:
[1] 1975 AIR 865, 1975 SCR (3) 333
[2] M. M. Ansari, Impact of Right to Information on Development: A Perspective on India’s Recent Experiences, (24/08/2016; 1.35 pm), cic.gov.in/CICIntlEvents/IC-MA-LectureAtUNESCO-15052008.pdf
[3] http://docs.manupatra.in/newsline/articles/Upload/AC9CD2C7-B8AD-4C5A-B910-3751BFE5CB28.pdf
[4] Right to Information: User Guide, Right to Information: Users Guide, https://www.humanrightsinitiative.org/programs/ai/rti/india/user_guide/info_not_access.htm (last visited Jul 25, 2020).
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