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RTI

  1. News & Context
      2. DPDP (Data Protection Act) Act 2023 Amended RTI Act. DPDP Act amended Section 8 1 J giving blanket information to personal information
  1. Quotes
      2. Where a Society has chosen to accept as its Creedal Faith (Course of Action), it is elementary that the citizens ought to know that what is the government doing By Justice PN Bhagwati
      Democracy cannot meaningfully function without an Informed Citizenry and such a citizenry is impossible without broad public access to information about the operations of government By FoSE Researcher Ryan Shapiro
  1. RTI
    1. Defintion
        2. RTI is defined citizens ability to obtain information held by government or public authorities
    2. Significance
        3. notion image
      1. It is important for the assessment of govt by general public
      2. It is important for involvement of citizens in government in decision making
      3. Importance for reducing corruption
          4. All these 3 points will ensure Inclusive Government and thereby good governance
          Hence it is called as Oxygen for a democratic society
    3. Evolution
      1. Judicial
          2. Raj Narayan v/s State of UP Case
          For the firs time SC established that Citizens Rt to Know arises from the Fundamental Right of FoSE under Art 19(1)(A)
          SC reiterates in SC Gupta case that RTI is part of Art 19(1)(A)
          SC in PUCL v/s UoI 2000 case, RTI was elevated to the status to NHC
      2. Parliament
          3. Mathew Commission was Established & recommended to Official Secrets Act, 1923 on the grounds that it suppresses Freedom of Press
          Later in 1989, VP Singh Government proposed to make RTI a FR.
          However, things didn’t materialise
      3. Peoples Movement
          4. MKSS (Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangrahan).
          Finally in 2005, a Legislation called RTI was passed by the Parliament in 2005
  1. Objectives of RTI
    1. Promote Transparency and Accountability
    2. Empower the Citizens
    3. Address Corruption from Society
  1. Spirit of RTI Law
    1. It Mandates the replacement of a culture of secrecy with a culture of transparency
  1. Unique Feature of Law
    1. Suo Moto Declaration so that Public have minimum resort to the use of this act to obtain information.
    2. Established Information Commissioners with Highest Authorities to order any office, to provide information as per provisions of the Act
        3. Evident in Subhash Agarwal v/s UoI → It declared that CJI is also a Public Office
  1. This lead to three Shifts
    1. Culture of Secrecy to Culture of Transparency
    2. Unchecked Rule to Accountable
    3. From Uni Lateral Decision Making to Participatory Decision Making
  1. Modern Information Highway (MIH)
    1. Present Day World is about MIH, acc to govt MIH includes five pillars
      1. Ask → mygov.in
      2. Listen → Changes to GST Regime & J&K Social Media Kid asked govt to reduce class timing
      3. Interact → Various periodic surveys are conducted
      4. Act → Railway Dpt taking action based on X
      5. Inform → Information (Websites & Real Time)
        6. AIM : Participative & Substantive Democracy Over Procedural Democracy
  1. Reports
    1. Transparency International Ranked India as 85/180 in Corruption Perception Index
        2. Countries Rank Remained Stagnant in the past decade
  1. RTI Act 2005 → Key Sections
    1. Section 2
        2. Definition of Information and Public Authority
        Pub Authority - Those entities which are controlled and substantially funded by the government
    2. Section 4
        3. Pro Active Disclosure of information - Suo Moto Declaration
        Benchmark : What you cannot deny to the parliament, you cannot deny to public
        it calls for Pro Active Disclosure, Rather than Reactive Disclosure
        Pro Active Disclosure by MIH in Ujjwala Scheme and Swacch Bharat Abhiyan
    3. Section 5
        4. Establish Public Information Officers. No Need for separate
    4. Section 7
        5. Response Time. PIO should furnish information within 30 days of receipt of application
    5. Section 8
        6. Exemptions from Disclosure. Certain Categories are
      1. Non Disclosure is important to protect the National Interest
      2. If an information is prohibited from Publication by the Court
      3. If an information if it affects parliamentary or legislatives privileges
      4. Section 8 1 J : Exemption from Disclosure to Personal information that has no relationship to any public activity or interest.
          5. However, the qualification to it is → if a PIO feels a larger public interest and justifies disclosure, then information can be revealed.
          Basis is Benchmark of “If a certain information that cannot be denied to Parliament or State Legislative Assemblies then it shall not be denied to Citizens as well”
          DPDP Removed this Section → It said that “Non Disclosure of Personal Statement”
          this is a broader exemption, information which relates to a broader information.
    6. Section 20 : Penalty for Non Compliance
        7. Penal Provisions for Denial or Delay in providing information. Fine will be borne by Individuals.
  1. Positives and Issues
      2. Positives
    1. Enhancing Transparency
      1. Ensures Access to Public Records and Accountability
    2. Strengthening Democracy
        3. Citizen Empowerment, An informed Citizenry is strengthened citizenry, calls for social auditing by means of peoples participation
    3. Fostering Good Governance
      1. By means of accountability and transparency
    4. Administrative. Efficiency
      1. Record Keeping
      2. Contributing to Judicial Efficiency
    5. Stats : 80 Lakh Applications & Adarsh Housing Society Scam, Common Wealth Scam and 2G Scam
      6. Issues (Add from Handout)
    6. Acc to Satark Nagarik Sangathan, came up with RTI Report Card.
      1. There is large backlog of complaints and appeals. in 2022 the no of pending complaints and appeals is more than 3 Lac. with time clearance rate will reduce
      2. Many State Level Information Centres are having Vacancies at the level of Information Commissioner
      3. Still there is poor record keeping and lack of online record keeping. Lack of Digitisation of records
    7. Still there is attitudinal issues and reluctance to pro active disclosure of information. Lack of Bureauratic Will
    8. this act has the potential to misuse and harassment. combined with Frivolous Requests
    9. Conflict with Other Laws : like Official Secrets Act, latest clash with DPDP
    10. Loopholes in the Law, Exemptions as the reason to not disclose information
    11. Penalties are rarely imposed on PIO.
    12. Example : 20 RTI Activists were killed in the last 2 decades
  1. Amendments - 2019 & 2023
      2. Meta
      Before
      After
      Remarks
      Tenure
      5 Yrs or 65 Yrs for CI
      Decided by Central Govt
      No Fixity of Tenure
      Salaries
      Like of CEC → CIC EC→ IC
      Now it will be decided by Central Govt
      Arg by Govt, is that CIC & IC are statutory bodies under RTI Act. However, CEC & EC are constitutional body
      Appointment
      Decided by State Rules for SIC
      Now this also goes to centre
      Unitary Bias
      Issues with Amendments
    1. 2019 protects the unique feature of RTI
    2. 2023 Amendment diluted the essence of EIC
    3. Amendment Goes against the idea of federalism in point 3
    4. wrt 2023 Amendement, a blanket exemption to all personal information
    5. Acc to National Campaign for peoples right to information, this 2023 amendment will lead to two problems
        6. It will affect the social audit of govt programs. examples MNREGA & PDS
    6. DPDP act amended Section 8 1 J totally exempting personal information from disclosure
    7. Challenge as per SNS
      1. Backlog & Pendency of Cases
      2. Increasing Appeals → Submitted a Application and Not Satisfied, Hence Filed One More Appeal → No Satisfaction or Low Satisfaction → Leads to Public Trust Deficit
      Sealed Cover Jurisprudence → Govt gives to Court in Sealed Cover → Media One Case
  1. Suggestions / Way Forward
    1. Estab Public Records Office which will be responsible for Control, Supervision and Inspection of Record Keeping in all Public Offices
    2. Estab Single Window Agency in Every District, so that citizens can access services or information of different departments at one place
    3. Operationalise Whistle Blower Protection Act
  1. Questions : The Amendments to RTI Act, 2005 will have a profound impact on the spirit of the legislation Discuss
      2. Answer Framework :
    1. RTI
    2. Spirit of Law
    3. Amendment 2019-23
    4. Impact Positive
    5. Impact Negative
    6. Way Forward
 
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