Right To Information
The
right to information has been in picture since India was declared a republic, but it was difficult to enforce the same without knocking the doors of the court. The Right to Information though included implicitly in the wide expanse of our fundamental right of expression guaranteed by Article 19 of the Indian Constitution, has now been granted express and explicit recognition. The Union Parliament passed the Right to Information Act in May this year. The Act was passed after intense lobbying which gained momentum ever since the new Government assumed power with an unequivocal promise to enhance the efficacy of the old law. This new Act has come into operation throughout the nation on October 12.
A number of decisions pronounced by the apex Court have accepted the fact that the masses cannot put forth a discerning opinion on various socio-political issues if they do not have access to information on how their Government and public institutions function. This gives us an answer to the very crucial question i.e. why is the sovereignty of media or press considered as a concomitant of a democratic set up. In a landmark decision of the
The Right to Information Act is a legislation aimed at securing this vital right of citizens. The rules prescribed by the Act identify a format for providing the information sought apart from identifying a strict framework of time within which information must be furnished. The method of furnishing the information sought and charges for the same have also been laid down. Public Information Officers have to be appointed in the administrative offices of all public authorities. Citizens can seek information from these officers through copies of policies and decisions etc. Assistant PIOs are also to be appointed at each sub-divisional or sub-district level, and these Assistants are responsible for receiving applications and forwarding them to the appropriate PIO. If the concerned officer declines to provide the information, in such eventuality the citizen has the option of approaching the Appellate Authority who shall be an employee senior to the PIO, in the same department.
If at the Appellate stage also the desired information is not received then an appeal can be made to the Central or State Information Commissioner. The Commissions are endowed with wide powers to take notice of appeals and are also responsible for regular scrutiny of the law and framing of annual reports. To ensure effective implementation of the provisions of the Act, the Commissions can issue any order including ordering release of documents and publication of specified information.
The time limits prescribed by the Act are very stringent and rigid i.e. thirty days for normal applications and 40 days in cases where a third party submissions is to be requisitioned. But in cases where the life and liberty of a person are concerned there these time restrictions are condensed to a mere 48 hours.
The Right to Information Act has drawn the provisions of penalty from The Maharashtra Act. The former makes provision for penal fine of Rs. 250 per day upto a maximum of Rs. 25,000 on the concerned Public Information Officer for delay in furnishing the information. Apart from this disciplinary action can also be initiated against disobedient Officers who treat the citizens’ requisitions in a casual and cavalier fashion.
The efficacy of the Right to Information Act could be witnessed in Maharashtra where the deceptive practice of embezzling money earmarked for providing livelihood under the Employment Guarantee Scheme (ESG) has been thriving since a very long time. To check such fraudulent acts, a drive has been kicked off in Maharashtra to get citizens across the State to demand the employment roll using the said Act and thereafter auditing the same with people's input. The basic power of this Act lies in the fact that it authorizes all citizens to call for information. Thus, without raising the necessity of structuring pressure groups or rebellious associations, it hands over the power of seeking information directly to the masses.
The Act is a remarkable improvement over the Freedom of Information Act of 2002. The Act has broadened the scope of “information" beyond mere “records" or "documents". Information has been comprehended to seek information concerning a private body that can be accessed by a public authority under any law and also includes taking samples of materials. Apart from this, the list of information which is required to be published by the public authorities has also been enlarged and in addition to details of public policies and decisions, it now also includes plans and budgets allocated to each agency, execution methodology of subsidy programs, the details of recipients of licenses and permits, expenditure and disbursement reports etc.
Despite a number of progressive provisions the Act still contains some restrictive rules. "Cabinet papers, including records of deliberations of the Council of Ministers, Secretaries and other officers" have been accorded a blanket exemption. A proviso to this provision says that resolutions of the Council of Ministers and the basis on which these resolutions were made will be published after a conclusion is reached and the matter is complete. A number of Central intelligence & security agencies are expressly entitled to exception from the provisions of the Act, except where the information sought relates to issues of corruption or violation of human rights. Likewise certain other categories of information have been secluded from public access. If the information requested is more than 20 years old, it can be released to any person but a number of exemptions shall continue to apply even after the stipulated period of 20 years such as the exemption which seeks to protect information which would "prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security, strategic, scientific or economic interests of the State, relations with foreign States of which would lead to the incitement of an offence". But it must be submitted that in spite of these restrictive provisions, the new Right to Information Act possesses the potential to set the rhythm of public accountability and transparency in our democracy.
About Author
He is an economic analyst with a law degree. He realizezs that inormation gained in any aspect must be shared with others. Being an amateur writer, he expresses his views through such short articles.
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Source: ArticleTrader.com