The Relevance of Right to Information in India
“The purpose of information is not knowledge. It is being able to take the right action.” — Peter Drucker
On 12 October 2005, the long-awaited dream of Indian citizens was realised as the Right to Information Act found a place in the Constitution. This was a result of decades of campaigning by the rural poor, activists, environmentalists, and the press of India. The growing embers of the RTI movement initiated as a series of protests and demands around 1975, sprouting into a nationwide movement by 2005.
The RTI Act has its genesis in the Supreme Court verdict of 1975. Justice KK Matthew, in the case of State of Uttar Pradesh v. Raj Narain, held that the people of the country have a right to know every public act committed by their public functionaries, in a public manner. This judgement emphasised the objective of information being ‘public interest’ — the essence of the Act today. Coupled with corruption in the bureaucracy and the atmosphere of secrecy in governance in India during the 1980s and 90s, the judgement set the stage for the people’s demand for the legislation.
The main objectives of the Right to Information Act are promoting transparency and accountability in governance, and decreasing corruption. Seventeen years in, almost 56 lakh RTI petitions are filed annually in India. However, a nationwide assessment in 2009 found that awareness of the Act is still low among women and the rural population. Furthermore, there are instances of Public Information Officers harassing and imposing violence on applicants. The attacks on RTI activists have spiked. In 2022, 5 cases of alleged murder of RTI activists have been reported, according to Scroll.in.
The Mint reports that nearly 31,000 appeals were pending before the CIC in 2019. In the same year, 4 out of 10 positions for Information Commissioners were vacant. This high pendency in the appeal system must be eradicated. Section 8 of the RTI Act contains the exemptions under which information of national security, intelligence, etc. can be refused to the citizens. Penalties on the PIO must be imposed in case of neglect of duties. They must be answerable to the higher authorities as is mandated under the Act, which can be achieved through greater enforceability.
The Right to Information Act is a milestone in the journey to transparency and greater accountability in our democracy. Between 2005 and 2008, two million RTI applications were filed across the country, out of which 4 lakh applications were filed in rural areas. Evidently, the Act is championing those who crusaded for it. To ensure that its benefits are reaching the masses, however, we require greater awareness and support for the citizens. Information empowers, after all.
Here’s how you can file an RTI in India! — How to file RTI — Read Complete Guide on RTI — by OnlineRTI.com
