Brainwave
RIGHT TO INFORMATION
by Saurabh Awasthi
MBA (IT) II Semester, IIIT ALLAHABAD
“Right to information” means the right to information accessible under this Act which is held by or under the control of any public authority and includes the right to-- (i) inspection of work, documents, records; (ii) taking notes, extracts or certified copies of documents or records; (iii) taking certified samples of material; (iv) obtaining information in the form of diskettes, floppies, tapes, video cassettes or in any other electronic mode or through printouts where such information is stored in a computer or in any other device. [Vide Section 2(d), Right to Information Act, 2005].
The right to information holds within it the right of citizens to seek information, as well as the duty of the state to provide information, which includes its responsibility to store, organise, and make information easily available, and to withhold it only when it is proven that this is in the best public interest. At the heart of the RTI are two key concepts : (1) The right of the public to request access to information and the corresponding duty on the Government to meet the request, unless, specific, defined exemptions apply; (2) The duty of the Government to proactively provide certain key information, even in the absence of a request.
Right to know is also closely linked with other basic rights such as freedom of speech and expression and right to education. Its independent existence as an attribute of liberty cannot be disputed. Viewed from this angle, information or knowledge becomes an important resource. An equitable access to this resource must be guaranteed to all. It empowers citizens in relation to the state and enhances their control over political processes. It acts as a deterrent against arbitrary exercise of official power. It empowers people to hold public authorities accountable for their actions on a regular basis.
Right to information as defined under the Right to Information Act (Act No. 22 of 2005) means : “the right to information accessible under this Act which is held by or under the control of any public authority and includes the right to--(i) inspection of work, documents, records; (ii) taking notes, extracts or certified copies of documents or records; (iii) taking certified samples of materials; (iv) obtaining information in the form of diskettes, floppies, tapes, video cassettes or in any other electronic mode or through print outs where such information is stored in a computer or any other device; According to this law, every citizen has a right to know how the Government is functioning. It empowers every citizen to seek any information from the Government, inspect any Government documents and seek certified photocopies thereof. This law also empowers citizens to inspect any Government work or to take sample of material used in any work. However, this right is not absolute. There are restrictions to this right as mentioned in Section 8(1), clauses (a) to (j) of the RTI Act, 2005. Further Section 9 lays down the grounds for rejection to access in certain cases.
Even, if the right to information is read as a fundamental right under Article 9(1)(a) of the Indian Constitution (Freedom of Speech and Expression), it cannot be conferred as an absolute right. This is because certain restrictions are imposed to enjoy fundamental rights within the Constitution as mentioned under clauses (2) to (6) of Article 19. Further, it has been held by the Supreme Court (SC) in several cases that permissible reasonable restrictions can be imposed on fundamental rights. For instance, every individual right has to give way to the rights of public at large. [State of Punjab v. Ram Lubhaya Bagga, AIR 1998 SC 1703].
There are restrictions imposed on the RTI. The usual exemption permitting Government to withhold access to information is generally in respect of the these matters : (1) International relations and national security; (2) Law enforcement and prevention of crime; (3) Internal deliberations of the Government; (4) Information obtained in confidence from some source outside the Government; (5) Information which, if disclosed, would violate the privacy of an individual; (6) Information, particularly of an economic nature, when disclosed, would confer an unfair advantage on some person or subject or Government; (7) Information which is covered by legal/professional privilege, like communication between a legal advisor and his client and; (8) Information about scientific discoveries and inventions and improvements, essentially in the field of weapons.
These categories are broad and information of every kind in relation to these matters cannot always be treated as secret. There may be occasions when information may have to be disclosed in public interest, without compromising the national interest or public safety. For example, information about deployment and movement of armed forces and information about military operations, qualify for exemption. Information about the extent of defense expenditure and transactions for the purchase of guns and submarines and aircraft cannot be totally withheld at all stages.
Right to information was recognized by the United Nations (UN) at its very inception in 1946, when the General Assembly resolved: “freedom of Information is a fundamental human right and the touchstone for all freedom to which the UN is consecrated”. [UN General Assembly, (1946) Resolution 59(1), 65th Plenary Meeting, December 14].
Likewise, following the World Summit for Social Development, the Copenhagen Programme of Action affirmed the obligation to “enable and encourage access by all to a wide range of information” and recognised that “an open political and economic system requires access by all to knowledge, education and information.” [United Nations (1995) Programme of Action of the World Summit for Social Development, March, Copenhagen, para 16].
In 2004, the free expression rapporteurs of the UN, Organization of American States and Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe issued another Joint Declaration of International Mechanism for Promoting Freedom of Expression, affirming the right to access information as ‘fundamental human right’ for all citizens, one which Governments should respect by enacting laws based on the principle of ‘maximum disclosure’.
The Commonwealth Freedom of Information Principles ’99 were noted by the Commonwealth Heads of Government at Durban Meeting. It was held that: (1) Member countries should be encouraged to regard freedom of information as a legal and enforceable right. (2) There should be a presumption in favour of disclosure and Governments should promote a culture of openness. (3) The right of access to information may be subject to limited exemptions but these should be narrowly drawn. (4) Government should maintain and preserve records. (5) In principle, decisions to refuse access to information should be subjected to independent review.
In 2002, the Commonwealth Law Ministers specifically recognised that “the right to access information was an important aspect of democratic accountability and promoted transparency and encouraged full participation of citizens in the democratic process”
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The matter here is solely for academic use only.
[http://www.thecommonwealth.org/whoweare/declarations/harare.html].