- ABSTRACT-
“Bringing together the right information with the right people will dramatically improve a company’s ability to develop and act on strategic business opportunities”- Bill Gates
“A Nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is afraid of its people.” John. F Kennedy
“RTI’s underlying premise is that schools should not wait until students fall enough behind to qualify for special education to provide them with the help they need.” Mike Mattos
The article talks about the Right to Information Act which can be used as a weapon against corruption. Corruption in the modern era is acting like a plague where every organization, judicial system, education, business, industrial, international agencies, NGO’s, Bureaucracy, etc have come under its chain just to gain fame and recognition in the society. United Progressive Alliance-1 (UPA) Government headed by Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh enacted the Right to Information Act in the year 2005 (14th Lok Sabha) which empowered the citizens of India against Administrative Corruption and erratic/wrong administration. To disclose the governmental and administrative functions is the main objective of this Act. Right from the lowest level to the topmost front, the level of corruption is at its peak and it has raised alarms for the concerned authorities who are dealing with this issue. Right to Information Act serves as a medium for the commoners to know what the root causes of corruption are and why are people involved in such crimes. There are three pillars in the Constitution of India- Judiciary, Executive, and Legislature. Corruption whenever occurs dents the image of these pillars of India. The Right to Information Act (RTI) is an act of the Parliament of India which sets out the rules and procedures regarding citizen’s right to information. The government should be accountable to individuals which are according to the popular belief in a democratic set up. The information of documents, files and samples required by the individuals should therefore be disclosed by the Government. As it was seen in Raj Narain vs Uttar Pradesh Government, it was observed by the Supreme Court that- “Information is also part of Constitutional and Fundamental Rights under the Article 19(1) (a) of part three of the Indian Constitution. Right to Information Act creates a new era in Indian democratic Republics political journey.Freedom of Information Act, 2002was replaced by the Right to Information Act and as a result “officials secret Act-1923” was repelled and many other laws of British Raj and Rules establishments by Union Legislature.In every public authority, private aided and unaided private educational institutions, The Right to Information Act provides a provision to appoint a Public Information Officer (PIO) and Assistant Public Information Officer (APIO).We shall be discussing more detail through this article.[1]
KEYWORDS- RTI Act, Corruption, Main Issues, RTI around the World, Case Laws
- INTRODUCTION-
Right to Information Act serves the purpose of safeguarding the interests of the common citizens and creating general awareness among them about the events and government functioning and procedures that are taking place in the society and Parliamentary and Governmental Procedures. Nowadays, the problem of corruption has become rampant in the country and hence it has become a need of an hour to create awareness among the common citizens highlighting the major problems and challenges that are being faced by the common citizens in the country. Major newspapers, journals, news channels, magazines, government advertisements, etc highlight the menace of corruption in the country and how it has overall affected the situation of the common people and most importantly how even the lowest level worker like peon takes the bribe and gets involved in the process of the corruption. There are certain exceptions of Section 8(1) of the RTI Act 2005
[1] “RTI Act Trumps Official Secrets Act”- Supreme Court of India. www.hindu.com. Retrieved 6 February 2021
Explainer: The Right to Information (Amendment) Bill 2019” PRS India. 19 July 2019. Retrieved 19 April 2020
“Archived Copy” (PDF) Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 January 2017. Retrieved 29 May 2013
PTI “Khurshid sounds warning note on R.T.I ruling” The Hindu. Archived from the original on 10 June 2013 Retrieved 4 June 2013
“Central Information Commission cic.gov.in Retrieved 11 February 2017