Right to Information Act : EMPOWERMENT Through INFORMATION Kartick chandra Barman Assistant professor of history Krishna chandra college

THE RTI ACT & YOUR EMPOWERMENT You can ask for (almost) any information from the Public Authority You won’t have to give reasons for asking Redress of delay or non delivery, as that has to be acknowledged through information

RTI - UNIQUENESS It has emerged from the grassroots -- not imposed from above Involvement of Active Citizenry and Civil Society Movement behind this Act You won’t have to go to Court for its implementation, every office needs to be geared up for this Act.

RTI - Information is Power Information With People True Democracy Power of People RTI

RTI - THE FOUNDATION The real Swaraj will come not by the acquisition of authority by a few but by the acquisition ofcapacity by all to resist authority when abused. -Mahatma Gandhi

Information is power and it belongs to people. In democratic polity every person is capable of governing itself and sovereignty lies in people. Supreme Court interpreted “Right to Know” as integral part of “Right to Freedom of Speech and Expression”.

State of U.P. vs. Raj Narain (AIR 1975 SC 865) - Justice K.K.Mathew ‘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. The 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. To cover with veil of secrecy, the common routine business, is not in the interest of the public’.

RTI - THE FOUNDATION ‘ Democracy requires an informed citizenry and transparency of information which are vital to its functioning and also to contain corruption and to hold Governments and their instrumentalities accountable to the governed’ - Right to Information Act 2005

RTI - THE FOUNDATION “ I believe that the passage of this Bill will see the dawn of a new era in our processes of governance, an era of performance and efficiency, an ear which will ensure that benefits of growth flow to all sections of our people, an era which will eliminate the scourge of corruption, an era which will bring the common man’s concern to the heart of all processes of governance, an era which will truly fulfill the hopes of the founding fathers of our Republic.” : Dr. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India Speech in Lok Sabha on 11 May 05 on introduction of the Bill

RTI ACT Enacted on 15 June Came into force on 12 October 2005

RTI ACT - BASIC PURPOSE - Informed Citizenry - Transparency inGovernance - Practical Regime of RTI - Secure Access to Information in Public Authority - Prevention of Corruption

RTI - THE PROVISIONS Right to Information – Right Shall Publish – Mandatory Within reasonable time, subject to availability of resources Suo moto publication – minimum use of Act Consider local language, cost effectiveness, effective mode of communication 100 days to designate PIO No bar in appointing APIO in sub district and sub divisional level

R equest in writing or electronic form – English, Hindi, Official Language R easonable assistance for oral request D o not ask for reason for request T ransfer application within 5 days G ive information within 30/35 days I n case of life, liberty within 48 hours N ot giving info within time – deemed to be refused

F ee to be reasonable, no fee for BPL P ublic interest overweigh private interest L iability for negligence P enalty for not giving information” A ct done in good faith – no legal proceeding. O verrides Official Secret Act and other laws N o civil court’s jurisdiction

RTI - ACTION PLAN Have you appointed PIO/ APIO Have you made documentation ready Have you classified documents according to your convenience Have you notified information regarding PIO Have you made proforma ready

Application for information Money receipt Record of request for information Supply of information Refusal of information Transfer of request for information Third party information Appeal

RTI - INFORMATION Information means any material in any form including records, documents, memos, s, 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 -

RTI - RECORDS Every public authority shall maintain all its records duly catalogued and indexed in a manner and the form which facilitates the right to information under this Act and ensure that all records that are appropriate to be computerised are, within a reasonable time and subject to availability of resources, computerised and connected through a network all over the country on different systems so that access to such records is facilitated

RTI - RIGHTS It includes the right to - i. inspect works, documents, records. ii. take notes, extracts or certified copies ofdocuments or records. iii. take certified samples of material. iv. obtain information in form of printouts, diskettes, floppies, tapes, video cassettes or in any other electronic mode or through printouts

RTI - PUBLIC AUTHORITY "public authority" means any authority or body or institution of self- government established or constituted— (a)by or under the Constitution; (b)by any other law made by Parliament; (c)by any other law made by State Legislature; (d)by notification issued or order made by the appropriate Government, and includes any— (i) body owned, controlled or substantially financed; (ii) non-Government organization substantially financed, directly or indirectly by funds provided by the appropriate Government

RTI - EXEMPTIONS a)forbidden by any court of law or tribunal b)breach of privilege of Parliament or the State Legislature c)affects the sovereignty and integrity of India d)information related to agencies mentioned in the Second Schedule of the Act

RTI - EXEMPTIONS e)Commercial confidence, trade secrets or intellectual property f)Information from a foreign government g)Cabinet papers including records of deliberations of the Council of Ministers, Secretaries or prosecution of offenders h)Information which relates to personal matters, the disclosure of which has no bearing on any public activity or interest

RTI - NEED OF THE HOUR What can you do now Create Awareness Proactive use – File Application seeking Information

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Prof. Anirban Majumdar, NUJS Prof. Supriyo Routh, NUJS Sabir Ahmed, Calcutta Samaritans Dr. A. P. Mukherjee, Member, ARC Shri Bhabesh Das, AIR