Kalpeshkumar L Gupta

LL.M., MBL (NLSIU), M. Phil(Law), PGDM

Academic Associate IIM Ahmedabad

RIGHT TO
INFORMATION
IN INDIA
Seminar on RTI - IIM Ahmedabad
December 7, 2013

Right to Information in India :-

1. Introduction
2. Recent Scenario
3. Practical Aspects
4. Short film on RTI
5. Q & A


Right to Information is a
Fundamental Right..

Right to Information has been
judicially recognized as part of
Article 19(1)(a) of Indian Constitution
All Citizens shall have the right to
freedom of Speech and Expression

For proper enjoyment of freedom of
Speech and Expression, it is
imperative that correct information is
available to the Citizens.

The Right To Information is a
fundamental right in every sense of
the word because it is absolutely
essential to the healthy functioning
of a modern democracy since an
uninformed citizen cannot possibly
be expected to be a good citizen.



Free flow of information from the Government to
the people will not only create an enlightened and
informed public opinion but also render those in
authority accountable

- Mr. V.P. Singh, Prime Minister of India (1989)

Lack of Transparency was one of the main causes
for all pervading corruption and Right to
Information would lead to openness, accountability
and integrity

- Soli Sorabji, Former Attorney General of India (1998-2004)
Why an RTI Act ?


RTI in various countries :-

- Sweden (1766) Freedom of Press Act

- India is the 48
th
Country to implement RTI
(enacted 15-06- 2005, came into force 12-10-2005)

- USA (1966) Freedom of Information Act

- UK (2000) Freedom of Information Act

- South Africa (2000) Promotion of Access to Info Act.

- New Zealand (1982) Official Information Act

- Finland (1951) Openness to Public documents

- RTI in constitution of the countries like France, Brazil,
Mexico, Columbia etc..

- More than 90 countries are having act on RTI..

RTI Act in various states
before RTI Act, 2005 :-

1. Tamil Nadu (1997)
2. Goa (1997)
3. Rajasthan (2000)
4. Karnataka (2000)
5. Delhi (2001)
6. Maharshtra (2002)
7. Assam (2002)
8. Madhya Pradesh (2003)
9. Jammu & Kashmir (2004,
Amendment In 2008, repealed,
New Law made in 2009)

Journey of Right to Information Act in India :-

The movement of RTI started in early 1990s by
Majdoor Kisaan Shakti Sanghathan (MKSS)
in Devdungri,Rajashthan

Press Council of India drafted a Right to Information
Bill, 1996 (Justice P B Sawant, Chairman, PCI)

Institute of Rural Development, Hyderabad also
drafted a bill in 1997

In 1997 January 2, DoPT established a working
group under the chairmanship of Mr. H.D. Shouri

Freedom of Information Bill 2000 introduced in
Parliament on 25
th
July 2000.Freedom of Information
Act, 2002 (repealed)

Right to Information Act, 2005 (w.e.f. 12
th
October 2005)

Objective of Right to Information Act, 2005 :-

An Act to provide for setting out the practical regime of right to
information for citizens to secure access to information under
the control of public authorities, in order to promote
transparency and accountability in the working of every public
authority,

the constitution of a Central Information Commission
and State Information Commissions and for matters
connected therewith or incidental thereto.

Whereas the Constitution of India has established democratic
Republic;

And whereas democracy requires an informed citizen 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 (Section 2(j)) :-

.. includes the right to:

- Inspection of work, documents, records (Sec 2(i);

- Taking notes, extracts, or certified copies of
documents or records;

- Taking certified samples of material;

- Obtaining information in the form diskettes,
floppies, tapes, video cassettes or any other
electronic mode or through print outs where
such information is stored in a computer or any
other device

Information (Section 2(f)) :-

Information means any material in any form,
including records, documents, memos, e-mails,
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;

Records (Section 2(i)) :-

Record includes

Any document, manuscript and file;

Any microfilm, microfiche and
facsimile copy of a document;

Any reproduction of image or images
embodied in such microfilm (whether
enlarged or not; and

Any other material produced by a
computer or any other device

Public Authority (Section 2(h)) :-

Public Authority means any authority or body or institution
of self government established or constituted

- by or under the constitution

- by any other law made by the parliament

- by any other law made by the state legislature

- by notification issued or order made by the appropriate
government and includes any
- body owned , controlled or substantially financed

- non government organization substantially financed,
directly or indirectly by funds provided by the
appropriate government.

Authority under RTI Act, 2005 :-


State Information
Commission
(Section 15)


Appellate Authority


Public Information
Officer (PIO)
e.g. Gujarat Industrial
Development
Corporation
Central
Information
Commission,
New Delhi
(Section 12)


Appellate Authority


Central Public
Information Officer
(CPIO)
e.g. Income Tax Dept

Supply of Information to Only Citizen of India :-

The Act gives the right to information only to the
citizen of India. It does not make provision for
giving information to corporation, associations,
companies etc., which are legal entities but not
citizen.

However if an application is made by an employee
or office bearer of any corporation, association,
companies, NGO etc. indicating his name and
such employee/office bearer citizen of India,
information may be supplied to him/her.

Person living abroad can make an application to
Embassy of India in respective countries.

Pro-Active Disclosure (Section 4(1)(b)) :-

Under this section , every public authority to publish
16 category of information e.g.

1. The particular of organization , functions and duties,
2. The powers and duties of its officers and employee,
3. The procedure followed in decision making process, including
channels of supervision and accountability,
4. Directory of its officers and employees,
5. The rules, regulations instructions, manuals and records held by it
or under its control or used by its employee,
6. The budget allocated to each its agency indicating particular of all
plans, proposed expenditure and reports on disbursement made,
7. A statement of the board, council , committee and other bodies
consisting of two or more person constituted as its parts or the
purpose of its advice.
8. The monthly remuneration received by each its officer and
employee including the system of compensation as provided in its
regulations,
9. The name designation and other particular of Public Information
Officer, Appellate Authority etc.

Information Exclusion (Section 8) :-

1. Information, disclosure of which would prejudicially affect the
sovereignty integrity of India, the security, strategic, scientific or
economic interest of the state, relation with foreign states.

2. Information which has been expressly forbidden to be published
by any court of law or tribunal or the disclosure of which may
constitute contempt of court

3. Information which relates to personal information the disclosure
of which has no relationship to any public activity or interest or
which would cause unwarranted invasion of the privacy of the
individual.

4. Information including commercial confidence, trade secrets or
intellectual property.. etc..


5. Notwithstanding any of the exemption listed above, a
public authority may allow to access to information if public
interest in disclosure outweighs the harm to the protected
interest.


Severability (Section 10) :-

Where a request for access to information is
rejected on the ground that it is in relation to
information which is exempt from disclosure,
then,

notwithstanding anything contained in this Act,
access may be provided to that part of the
record which does not contain any information
which is exempt from disclosure under this Act
and which can reasonably be severed from any
part that contains exempt information.

Third Party Information (Section 11) :-

CPIO/SPIO after having request from applicant for the
information of third party within 5 days of the receipt will
inform third party

Third party within 10 days from the receipt of letter will reply
(positive/negative) to CPIO/SPIO.

Then CPIO/SPIO will make a decision in 40 days as whether or
not to disclose the information or record or part thereof and
give writing the notice of his decision to the third party.

Third party is entitled to prefer appeal under Section 19 of the
RTI Act.


Exempted Organization (Section 24) :-
(Schedule 2 of RTI Act)

1. Intelligence Bureau, MoH
2. Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, MoF
3. Border Security Force
4. Central Reserve Police Force
5. Central Industrial Security Force
6. National Security Guards
7. Research & Analysis Wing
8. Defense Research & Development Organization
9. Assam Rifles
10.Border Road Development Organization
11.Central Bureau of Intelligence
Total 25..

One can get the information from above org only in the
case of allegation of corruption or human rights violation


RTI success story :-

1. Attendance of village school teacher (Banda, UP)
2. Transparency in public distribution system for BPL families
(Bahraich, UP)
3. School uniform distributed. (Allahabad)
4. Exposing corruption in medicine procurement at PSU
(Koria, Chhatishgarh)
5. Payment of pension dues from railways (Bhavnagar Division)
6. Attendance of staff in the school has helped in checking teachers
absenteeism and students drop out.
7. Attendance of doctors and nurses at primary health centres has led to
improvement in health care facilities in rural area.
8. The details of supplies and food grains through rations shops has
assured the reach of entitlements to the beneficiaries.
9. Muster of roll and beneficiaries of employment guarantee schemes has
exposed corruption and ensured effective delivery of service to the
poor
For delay in RTI - IIT Kharagpur staff made to pay :-
(Indian Express, Dt. 14-06-2010)

- Prof Kumar of the IIT Kharagpur sought information on
Adjunct, visiting faculty and honorarium they received
on 4/10/2009.

- He filed a complaint to Central Information Commission
(CIC), New Delhi on 25/12/2012 as he did not get the
information from PIO.

- The CIC has penalised two officials of IIT Kharagpur
for allegedly delaying information sought under the RTI
Act. While ordering that Rs. 15,000 /- each to be
deducted from the salaries of PIO.

- Prof also given Rs. 5,000 /- as compensation.
Student employ RTI to bring changes :-
(The Times of India, Lucknow Dt. 29/05/2011)

- 9 RTI application filed by school children in UP governments
health department demanding information why tobacco retaill
shops are allowed to operate within the 100 yards of
educational institution
of ban, who is responsible to enforce tobacco law in Lucknow,
what action should be taken against the official for not taking
any action,

- A student filed RTI applications with the Lucknow Municipal
Corporation demanding information on why garbage is
dumped in public places, who is responsible to remove it, what
action will be taken, and when garbage will be removed.

- These students were part of the recently held summer training
camp in which they were taught by Magsaysay award winner
social activist Sandeep Pandey and social activist Bobby
Ramakant as how to draft an RTI application and use it as a tool
to curb corruption and make state government agencies do
their job.

- Most of the children who have filed applications are students of
Class 9 to 12
AISHWARYA
9 YEARS OLD
FILED RTI IN
NOV.2009
Bihar Shows the way in RTI Helpline will
empower people, bring accountability
(The Times of India, Dt. 29/01/2007, Sections Times Nations)
Now, instead of writing an application for
seeking information under the RTI Act and
submitting it to concerned departments, all one
has to do is dial a number where an attendant
processes the request and sends an application
to the concerned official.
A duplicate copy is forwarded to the district
magistrate through email followed by a fax
message. A copy of the application will be
delivered at the callers address within three
days. Plus, the caller will be given a special
number for follow-up action, says A Subhani,
secretary, personnel, Bihar. A Rs 10 RTI
application fee will be added to the telephone
call charge. This helpline will be launched in
coordination with an NGO, Parivartan.

Now RTI on wheels to answer your RTI queries :-
(Express India, Ahmedabad 23/02/2008)

- For the first time in India, a vehicle is being
exclusively designed to create awareness as well
as help the people of Gujarat to use their RTI
effectively.

- This initiative taken by Mahiti Adhikar Gujarat
Pehal (MAGP), Ahmedabad this vehicle will be
equipped by LCD computer, internet, printer,
scanner, copier. Manned by two volunteer, the
vehicle will screen films on RTI, distribute
pamphlets, hold peoples discussion on the act
and assist people to file application seeking
information
Chitkara Institutions covered under RTI Act :-
(Indian Express, Chandigarh, Dt. 1/06/2011)

- Sardavinder Goyal filed an RTI application in
September 2010 seeking some information from
MD of Chitkara Instituitions, Patiala.
- Management denied the information under RTI
saying that they are self financed institution that
received no grant from Govt. agency.
- Getting no response he filed a complaint with the
State Information Commission.
- In December 2010 Chitkara Education Trust
granted permission to run Chitkara University.
- Consequently being a university Chitkara
covered under RTI Act.


Reliance Infra comes under RTI:-
(DNA,Mumbai Dt. 21/7/2011)

- RTI Activist Anil Galgali filed an RTI application to Reliance
Infra regarding meter connection details.

- He was denied information saying that they are not the
public authority.

- Anil filed a complaint to Maharashtra State Information
Commission against the denial of Reliance Infra.

- Justifying the order, the commission said though Rinfra is a
private company, Reliance Energy provides essential public
service and hence should come under the Act.

- Commission also stated that since the company was
formed and given work under the Electricity Act, 2003 and
supplying power is a public service under this Act.



RTI Act not applicable to Reliance Infra :-
(The Times of India,Mumbai, Dt. 14/10/2011)

Reliance infrastructure moved to Bombay HC against the
order of Maharashtra Information Commission.

- Division of bench of HC said that Reliance does not fall in
the category of Public Authority as it is a private
company.

- Judges also added that merely by providing essential
services of power distribution, they can not be termed as
Public Authority.

- HC granted the stay on the decision of Maharashtra SIC.




Torrent Power refuses to give information under RTI :-
(Indian Express, Ahmedabad, Dt. 19-03-2010)

Applicant had sought information on power failures, shutdowns,
interruptions at Rajnagar complex, Narayan Nagar and Paldi areas
of Ahmedabad.

The applicant had sought information regarding the types of
power failures, power outages, shutdowns, interruptions at
Rajnagar complex, Narayan Nagar road and Paldi areas in
Ahmedabad between January 1, 2009 and November 2009.

In its reply sent on January 16, 2010, the company said the
information cannot be shared as they are not a public authority as
mentioned in Section 2 (h) of the Act.

Reacting to this, the Chief Information Commissioner,
Government of India, Wajahat Habibullah, told The Indian Express:
As far as I am concerned, yes, they (Torrent Power) have to be
under the ambit of RTI Act. But it depends on a lot of things,
including investment by the government, whether the government
has any stake or not.


The Supreme Court said examinees have a right to inspect answer-sheets
under the transparency law. The evaluated answer-sheets are covered
under the definition of the information under the Right to
Information (RTI) Act, a Bench comprising Justices R V Raveendran
and A K Patnaik said.

It upheld the judgment of the Calcutta High Court which had said
rejection for inspection of answer-sheets cannot be sustained.

The apex court dismissed the appeals of CBSE, West Bengal Board of
Secondary Education, West Bengal Council for Higher Education,
University of Calcutta, Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and
West Bengal Central School Service Commission which had
challenged the February 5, 2009 judgment.

The apex court agreed with the findings of the High Court that the
examination conducting bodies do not retain the evaluated answer-
sheets under any fiduciary capacity.

SC : STUDENTS HAVE RIGHT TO EXAMINE ANSWER SHEETS
CBSE & Anthr v/s.Aditya Bandopadhyay & Athrs. (Dt. 9/08/2011)
Retired judges to be appointed as Information
Commission

..the necessary qualification required for appointment as
Chief Information Commissioner or Information
Commissioner is that the person should have wide
knowledge and experience in law and other specified fields.

it must be termed as a judicial Tribunal which requires
to be manned by a person of judicial mind,

Two member, one Judicial member and One Expert
member

SC : Retired Judges to be appointed as Information Commisioner
Namit Sharma v/s.Union of India (Dt. of Judgement. 13/09/ 2012)
Cont

The Supreme Court's order mandating the
appointment of a judicial member and an expert
to hear RTI-related cases, has crippled
functioning of one-fourth of the country's 28
information commissions.

.Intervention petition filed in SC by Aruna Roy
& Shailesh Gandhi, SC granted stay on
judgement thereafter disputed part was
removed from the judgement

Supreme Court order leads to RTI logjam across states
(Times of India, 30/09/2012)
Cont
Cont
The Hon'ble Supreme Court had held in the Namit Sharma
case that the cases coming up before the Information
Commission should be in benches of two members and one
of which should be from a judicial background. Further, the
SC had directed for appointing the retired High Court judges
as the Chief Information Commissioner.

Hearing a review petition, a bench of the Hon'ble Justice A.K.
Patnaik and Hon'ble Justice Arjan Kumar Sikri of the SC has
stayed its order in the Namit Sharma case thus partially
paving way for filling of the vacancies of the Information
Commissioner in the country.


Cont
Source :- http://www.rtifoundationofindia.com/originalcontent.php?oid=3629
BCCI not Public Authority
Om Prakash Kashiram v/s. BCCI*
CIC Judgment Dt. 11
th
July, 2011
BCCI under RTI ?
(Times of India, Dt. 30/08/2011)
National Sports (Development),
Bill 2011
BCCI, IOA & Other sports body
opposed
WADA is of the opinion that BCCI
should be covered under RTI
Bill rejected by Cabinet on 30
th

August)
After the enactment of the BCCI
will be covered under RTI
* Source :- http://rti.india.gov.in/cic_decisions/CIC_LS_A_2011_001382_M_63301.pdf
NSE should disclose information under RTI Act:
Delhi High Court :-

The court has upheld the decision of the Central Information
Commission which had declared that the stock exchange is a
public authority The Delhi High Court today said that the
National Stock Exchange (NSE) is a public authority and is
bound to reveal information under the Right to Information
(RTI) Act,

The CIC had in 2007 held that stock exchanges are quasi-
governmental bodies which are bound to disclose
information to the public under the RTI Act.

A stock exchange being a quasi-governmental body
working under the statute and exercising statutory powers
has to be held to be a public authority under the Act
Source :- http://www.moneylife.in/article/nse-should-disclose-information-under-rti-act-delhi-high-court/4796.html April 15, 2010
MCX ready to come under RTI Act; other
exchanges still reluctant :-

MCX is in favour of bringing exchanges
under the Right to Information (RTI). The
exchange will work with policymakers to
develop a framework for exchanges RTI
policy. This is in stark contrast with other
exchanges like the National Stock
Exchange (NSE) and Bombay Stock
Exchange (BSE), which so far have resisted
any attempt to bring them under ambit of the
RTI Act.
Source :- http://www.moneylife.in/article/mcx-ready-to-come-under-rti-act-other-exchanges-still-reluctant/23905.html Dt. February 25, 2012
1. Congress Rs. 1385.36 Crore
2. BJP Rs. 682 Crore
3. NCP Rs. 141.34 Crore
4. BSP Rs. 147.18 Crore
5. RJD Rs. 2.85 Crore etc.


The information came through a petition
filed by Hisar based RTI activist Ramesh
Verma before the Income Tax department.

Political parties are exempted from tax on
their income through Section 13 A of IT Act
1961. They have to, however, maintain a
book of account for donations or income
above Rs 20,000.


Rs 2,490 Crore tax-exemption given to political parties in
5 years (Obtained through RTI Application) :-
Source :- http://zeenews.india.com/news/nation/rs-2-490-cr-tax-exemption-given-to-political-
parties-in-5-years_814239.html, December 2, 2012
MISUSE OF RTI :-
Man files 550 RTIs for missing wife
(The Times of India, Mumbai 25/07/2011)

Ramshankar Saroj, 10
TH
Class pass, autorickshaw driver has filed
around 550 RTIs in a little over three years. That works out to
around one RTI every two days.

While Saroj may be on his way to finding himself a place in the record
books, the Dharavi police, who have had to reply to the queries,
are not amused. They say Saroj is making their lives "miserable"
and they have closed the case for which he is repeatedly filing
queries.

The case in which Saroj has filed around 550 RTIs in 1,133 days
began with a missing person's complaint he filed for his wife,
Shilpa, 35, on May 21, 2008.

Ramashakar has also filed 800 RTIs to BruhadMumbai in connection
with illegal Slum Rehabilitation Authority
(TOI, Mumbai, Dt. 27
th
July, 2011)
MISUSE OF RTI :-
HC fines man Rs 50,000 for seeking private information RTI
(DNA, Mumbai, 7
th
March 2012)

- A man pursued the litigation to Delhi High Court against
his father, regarding Sales Tax Return under RTI.

- He was denied information by PIO, Appellate Authority
and CIC.

- He approached the Delhi High Court against the order
of CIC.

- The information asked is confidential and private in
nature. The present appeal is abuse of the process of
law and thus fine is invited.

- The HC said the purpose of the RTI was not to enable a
person take undue advantage of the law to settle
personal scores.


MISUSE OF RTI :-
Abstract from the judgment delivered on August 9
th
, 2011
CBSE Anrs. v/s. Aditya Bandopadhyays Anrs. (Civil Appeal 6454/2011 Supreme Court)
- ..Indiscriminate & Impractical demands or directions under RTI
Act for disclosure of all and sundry information (unrelated to
transparency & accountability in the functioning of public
authorities & eradication of corruption) would be counter-
productive as it will adversely affect the efficiency of the
administration and result in the executive getting bogged down
with the non-productive work of collecting and furnishing
information.

- The RTI Act should not be allowed to be misused or abused ,
to become a tool to obstruct the national development and
integration or to destroy the peace, harmony among its citizen.
Nor it should be converted into a tool of oppression and
intimidation of honest official striving to do their duty.

- .The nation does not want a scenario where 75% staff of
public authorities spends 75% of their time in collecting and
furnishing information to applicant instead of discharging their
regular duties.


Parents use RTI to access answer papers of kid's
classmates :- (Times of India, 25/09/2010)

- Competitive parenting has reached a new level, with parents
taking the RTI route to lay their hands on the Secondary School
Leaving Certificate (Class 10th) answer scripts of their kid's
classmates.

- Karnataka Secondary Education Board has written to the
Karnataka government seeking its permission to exempt
processing of answer sheets under RTI.

- "We're getting a lot of RTI queries for other students' papers. We
cannot encourage that. We cannot keep giving somebody's
answer sheets to others," said KSEEB director

- Students can seek a photocopy of the answer sheet for a fee of Rs
300 per paper. Revaluation costs Rs 700 and retotalling Rs 150. An
RTI request costs a mere Rs 10.

6 YEARS ON VACANCIES MAKING RTI INEFFECTIVE IN GUJARAT
(The Times of India, Ahmedabad, 13/10/2011)

- Several vacancies in the state information commission and
slow disposal rate of application casting a shadow

- Even after six years of implementation of RTI, the
information commission does not have adequate
infrastructure and staff.

- There are more than 8000 cases pending with the
commission. Today, if one complaint or appeal is filed, the
applicant has to wait for at least two years for first hearing
because of the vacant posts.

- There are 10 vacant posts including those of Chief
Information Commissioner and information commissioner.

- In Gujarat RTI applicant are mostly from rural and semi
urban areas seeking information on issue like MNREGA
payments and housing

Sandesh, Surat Dt. September 18, 2012
CIC FINES BABUS IN LESS THAN 1 % CASES
(The Times of India, Mumbai Dt. 15/10/2011)

- CIC is handling babus with kid-gloves for not providing information
within the prescribed time frame of RTI. Under the act, the chief
information commissioner can impose a penalty and order
compensation and disciplinary action against erring public
information officer.

- Since 2006-07, the CIC has imposed penalties in only 648 cases (less
than 1%) under the act, even though it has disposed of 75,284
appeals/complaints out of 94,209 since 2006-2007.The CIC sanctioned
compensation in only 134 cases in six years. In 22 cases, disciplinary
action against the chief information officer.

- RTI activists feel this emboldens CPIOs, allows them to grimace at
information-seekers and does not deter other CPIOs from refusing to
give information on flimsy grounds. Anil Galgali, a RTI activist, said,
"This also demoralizes information-seekers who are denied
information on one pretext or the other, are driven away and involves
waste of time, money and energy of the information-seekers."



RTI ACT NEEDS A CRITICAL REVIEW : MANMOHAN SINGH
(6
th
Annual Convention of Information Commissioners, New Delhi)
(The Times of India, Ahmedabad, 14/10/2011)

- Law should not adversely affect the
deliberative processes in the government

- RTI Act had been effective but there were concerns that it
could end up discouraging honest, well meaning public
servants from giving full expression to their views.

- even as we recognise and celebrate the efficacy and the
effectiveness of the RTI, we must take a critical look at it.
There are concerns that need to be discussed and
addressed honestly

- It was not desirable to have a situation in which an
authority was flooded with request for information having
no bearing on public interest
ARUNA ROY BLAST PM FOR REMARK
(The Times of India, Ahmedabad, Dt. 16/10/2011)

- Trasperancy advocate Aruna Roy slammed
PM Manmohan Singhs statement saying that
the RTI was adversely affecting deliberation in the
government and deterring honest official from expressing
their views on file.

- Roy said We reject the suggestions that transparency
makes bureaucrats inefficient. The government has always
been inefficient. Papers accessed by us through RTI have
proved this

- In the last six years, information received by the people
has created upheaval in governance. What has upset the
system in the scam. Instead of welcoming transparency, the
persistence for amendments is wrong she added

BRING CORPORATES UNDER RTI : NITISH KUMAR
(6th Annual Convention of Information Commissioners, New Delhi)
(The Times of India, Ahmedabad, Dt. 16/10/2011)

- Nitish Kumar made a strong push for expanding
the scope of RTI, demanding that corporates
sector and public private partnership (PPP)
projects be brought under it.

- He urged that authority not to fight shy of parting
with information, governments would gradually
get used to transparency.

- Prevailing culture of secrecy leads authorities to
resist even sharing even innocuous information
with people, he said dissemination of information
could actually help governments do a course
correction.
NO PROPOSAL TO REVIEW RTI SALMAN KHURSID
(The Times of India, Ahmedabad, 16/10/2011)

- Salman Khursid clarified that there was no
proposal for a relook at the RTI Act

- He also said We are proud of RTI. We are
pleased that we gave RTI to this country. Even if it
causes inconvenience to this country to an
extent, we will bear that inconvenience. But we
must ensure that in totality, the efficiency and
functioning of government is strengthened




Effectiveness: More than 90%
Arunachal Pradesh

Effectiveness: 70 to 80%
Nagaland

Effectiveness: 60 to 70%
Tripura
Manipur

Effectiveness: 50 to 60%
Karnataka

Effectiveness: 40 to 50%
Assam
Kerela
Gujarat
Punjab
Orissa
Bihar


Effectiveness: 30 to 40%
Jharkhand
Madhya Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh
Chattisgarh
Uttarakhand
Goa
Haryana
Maharashtra

Effectiveness: 20 to 30%
Andhra Pradesh
Central Information Commission
Rajasthan
West Bengal

Inadequate Data
Meghalaya
Mizoram
* Sources :- http://www.rtiawards.org/images/final_report.pdf (Public Cause Research
Foundation a Trust (www.pcrf.in), New Delhi is the secretariat of RTI Awards
Effectiveness of Information Commissioner * :-



- The National Council of
Educational Research & Training
(NCERT) has decided to print an
RTI message in textbook for
classes from VI to VIII, stating
that the law combats corruptions
and promotes transparency and
accountability in the government
machinery.

- The message to be displayed on
the inner side of the textbook
back cover is expected to
reach nearly one crore students
in 2012
Govt to go textbook on RTI,extol its virtue in school :-
Hindustan Times, New Delhi Dt. 20/08/2012

RTI ACTIVISTS KILLED :-

1. Satish Shetty from Pune. He exposed many land scam (Jan 2010)
2. Lalitkumar Mehta from Jharkhand. He exposed corruption in
MGNRGA (May 2008)
3. Vishram Dodiya of Ahmedabad filed a RTI application to get
details about the illegal electricity connection by a private firm.
(February 2010)
4. Dattatray Patil of Kolhapur. He exposed fake registration of
handloom (May 2010)
5. Vitthal Gite - He exposed scam in local school (April 2010)
6. Satyendra Dubey , IIT Kanpur graduate, a project director of
NHAI murdered in Gaya Bihar after fighting corruption in the
highway construction project. (Nov 2003)
7. Manjunath IIM- L graduate was killed trying to expose corruption
in petroleum marketing. (Nov. 2005)
8. Amit Jethwa from Ahmedabad shot dead near Gujarat High
Court. He filed PIL in Gujarat HC about illegal mining in Gir
Forest.. (July 2010)
9. Shela Masood shot dead at Bhopal (August, 2011)
SATYENDRA DUBEY (IEC)
B. Tech (IIT Kanpur),
M. Tech (BHU) Civil Engi
Project Dir. of NHAI -
Died on 24/11/2003
MANJUNATH SHANMUGAM
IIM Lucknow (2003)
Marketing Manager of IOCL
Died Nov 2005
www.manjunathshanmugamtrust.org
Regi. on 23/02/2006, Manjunath Birth Anniversary
Amit Jethwa, an Environmentalist & RTI Activist
shot dead opp. Gujarat High Court in July 2010
Anna Supporter and RTI Activist Shehla Masood
shot dead in Bhopal on 16
th
August , 2011

SUGGESTION ON
RTI ACTIVIST KILLINGS :-

According to RTI activist Vivek Deveshwar from Bangaluru,

My personal advice is that if there is an issue, then only
one person should not be involved in exposing it. Let
hundreds of people come forward and seek the same
information. This will deter the culprit in question since he
cannot go around killing so many people."

This issue should not just be limited to activists. Even the
common man should come forward and file such
applications. The government ought to take a lead in such
matters and create more awareness

THE PUBLIC INTEREST DISCLOSURE &
PROTECTION TO PERSON MAKING THE
DISCLOSURE BILL, 2010 :-

A bill to establish a mechanism to receive
complaint to disclosure on any allegation of
corruption or willful misuse of power or willful
misuse of discretion against any public servant
and to inquire and cause any inquiry into such
disclosure and to provide adequate safeguards
against victimization of the person making such
complaint..
Whistle Blowers Act

Format of Application :-

- There is no prescribed format for application for seeking
information at central level. The application can be made
on simple paper. The application should however have
the name and complete postal address of the applicant.
Even in the case where the information is sought
electronically, the application should contain name and
postal address of the applicant.

- States are given power under section 27 of RTI Act, 2005
to make Rules, prescribing various forms, fees for RTI
application, appeal etc.

-The information seeker is not required to give
reason for seeking information. (Sec 6)



Fees for seeking Information :-
-Fees of Rs. 10 with application (Cash / DD / IPO /,)*
(may vary state to state, Kerala Rs. 10, Guj. Rs. 20, Delhi Rs. 25, Haryana Rs. 50)

Further Fees towards the cost of providing the information, details of which shall
be intimated to the applicant by the PIO as prescribed by Right to Information
(Regulation of Fee & Cost) Rules 2005. Rates of Fees as prescribed in the rules are
given below.

- Rs. 2 for each page (A4/A3) created or copied
- Actual charge or cost price of a copy in a larger size copy.
- Actual cost or price for model or samples.
- For information provided in diskette/floppy etc. Rs. 50 per
diskette/floppy

As already pointed out , a citizen has right to inspect the records of the public
authority. For inspection of records, the public authority shall charge no fees for
first hour. But a fee of Rs. 5 for subsequent hour (or fraction thereof ) shall be
charged

* States are given power under Sec. 27 of RTI Act to make rules
prescribing forms, fees for RTI application, appeal etc.

Time limit for Providing Information :-

Information to be provided as
expeditiously as possible and not later
than 30 days,

48 hours where life or liberty is involved,

35 days where request is given to
Assistant PIO,

40 days where third party is involved and

45 days for information about human
rights violation from listed security/
intelligence agencies.
APPELLATE AUTHORITY
Appellate officer Under RTI
Act, 2005
Vice Chancellor
Veer Narmad South Gujarat
University, Surat 2
STATE PUBLIC INFORMATION
OFFICER
Registrar
Veer Narmad South Gujarat
University, Surat 1
STATE INFORMATION
COMISSIONER
Bureau of Economics &
Statistics Building
Sector 18
Gandhinagar 3
(Illustration State Level)
Flow of Appeal :-
When you file an application
for information under RTI
Act to VNSGU
30 days
1
st
Appl.
90 days
2
nd
Appeal
APPEAL TO BE DISPOSED IN 30
DAYS EXTENDED TO 45 DAYS
No time
limit
for
disposal
INFORMATION TO BE GIVEN IN 30 DAYS
APPELLATE AUTHORITY
Appellate officer Under RTI
Act, 2005
Aaykar Bhavan
Ahmedabad 2
CENTRAL PUBLIC
INFORMATION OFFICER
Aaykar Bhavan
Ahmedabad 1
CENTRAL INFORMATION
COMMISSIONER
August Kranti Bhavan,
Bhikaji Kama Place
New Delhi 110 066 3
(Illustration - Central Level)
Flow of Appeal :-
When you file an application
for information under RTI Act
to Income Tax Dept.
30 days
1
st
Appl.
90 days
2
nd
Appeal
APPEAL TO BE DISPOSED IN 30
DAYS EXTENDED TO 45 DAYS
No time
limit
for
disposal
INFORMATION TO BE GIVEN IN 30 DAYS

Govt. puts 500 word limit on RTI pleas :-

An application shall be accompanied by a
fee of Rs 10 and shall ordinarily not contain
more than 500 words, excluding annexures,
containing address of the Central Public
Information Officer and that of the applicant

The rules, however, said no application shall
be rejected on the ground that it contains more
than 500 words.
Source :- http://www.deccanherald.com/content/271230/govt-puts-500-word-limit.html

Specific Question to be asked in RTI Application :-

(1) How many number of students got GPAT-2011 stipend
from Manipal College of Pharmaceutical Science
(Manipal University, Karnataka), for academic year
2012-2013?

(2) Even though our college has applied and I am GPAT
qualified, I didnt get stipend yet I want justification.
- Do not ask question starting from Why
- Ask question preferably starting from
What, When etc.

COMPLAINTS (Sec. 18) :-

If a person is unable to submit a PIO either by reason that
such an officer has not been appointed by the concerned
public authority or Asst PIO has refused to accept his or her
application or appeal for forwarding the same to the PIO or
Appellate Authority as the case may be or he has been refused
to access to any information requested by him under RTI Act
or he has not been given any response to a request for
information within time limit specified under the act or he has
been required to pay an amount of fees which he considers
unreasonable or he believes that he has been given
incomplete, misleading or false information

He can make a complaint to Information Commission Central
/ State Information Commission as the case may be
Section 20 of RTI Act, 2005 PENALTIES:-
- Refused to receive an application or has not furnished any
information Rs. 250 per day till application is received or
information furnished maximum to Rs. 25,000 /-
- Malafidely denied the request for information or destroyed
information or knowingly given incorrect, incomplete,
misleading information then disciplinary action can be taken
the information officer
Section 19 (8) (b) of RTI Act, 2005 -
COMPENSATION:-

Under Section 19(8)(b) of the RTI Act, the CIC or the SIC, can
require the Public Authority to compensate the complainant /
appellant for any loss or detriment suffered. The complainant /
appellant should be able to justify the claim for compensation
as well as the amount of compensation sought.

Section 19 (8) (b) of RTI Act, 2005 - COMPENSATION:-

HC orders compensation for not providing info under RTI Act
PTI | 10:10 PM, Oct 01,2010

New Delhi, Oct 1 (PTI): The Delhi High Court has asked the Public
Information Officer of Directorate of Delhi Health Service(DHS) to pay Rs
50,000 as compensation to a poor man for not providing information
pertaining to his treatment in a hospital within the stipulated time under
RTI Act.

Justice S Muralidhar upheld Central Information Commission's(CIC)
August 20 order and dismissed an appeal filed by DHS challenging the
compensation awarded by the CIC. "....Any delay in providing timely
information can result in a person belonging to the Economic Weaker
Section (EWS) having to needlessly spend valuable resources for
medical treatment which should otherwise be available to such person
free of cost.





SECTION 26 of RTI ACT, 2005
GOVT TO PREPARE PROGRAMME.:-

The appropriate government may, to
the extent of availability of financial and
other resources
- develop and organize educational
programmes to advance the
understanding of the public, in particular
of disadvantaged communities as to how
to exercise the rights contemplated
under this Act
RTI
Application
Annexure 1
RTI
1
st
Appeal
RTI
2
nd
Appeal
RTI
Application
RTI
1
st
Appeal
RTI
2
nd
Appeal
Order of 2
nd

Appeal
Small Survey on
awareness on RTI * :-
(Informal)

1. 14% people do not know
about the RTI Act, 2005
2. 63% people do not know
how to make an RTI
Application
3. 80% people are of the
opinion that Govt. is not
taking much initiative for
dissemination of RTI Act.
4. 49% people are of the
opinion that media is not
playing active role for
dissemination of RTI Act.
* Total respondent 100 (Most of having PG degrees.)

(C) K L GUPTA
(C) K L GUPTA
spc.ahmedabad@indiapost.gov.in spc.ahmedabad@indiapost.gov.in spc.ahmedabad@indiapost.gov.in spc.ahmedabad@indiapost.gov.in
(C) K L GUPTA
SOME IMPORTANT WEBSITES :-

1. www.rti.gov.in
(Govt. of Indias most imp website on RTI)
2. www.cic.gov.in
(Central Information Commissioner, New Delhi
3. www.rti.india.gov.in
4. www.rti.org.in
5. www.gic.guj.nic.in
(Gujarat Information Commissioner)
6. www.sic.maharashtra.gov.in
(Maharashtra Information Commissioner)
7. www.ric.rajasthan.gov.in
(Rajasthan Information Commissioner)
8. www.rtiawards.org

Note :- Please visit website of other State Information Commissioner
for more information.

Exercise on RTI Application

Form at least 3 questions to be asked in RTI Application
regarding Drainage complaint redressal in Municipal
Corporation


1. What is the role & duty of Pandesara Ward Office?
2. Which are the area covered by Pandesara Ward Office?
3. What is the sanctioned strength of the staff what is present
situation of staff strength in the said ward. Give details of
last 5 years?
4. How many complaints received regarding drainage cleaning
in last 4 months, date of complaint, date of redressal of the
complaint ?
5. How many complaints received by House No. C/387 to 398,
Hariomanagar, Pandesara 394221 ?
6. Who are the responsible officers for the redressal of the
complaint ?
7. Which are the action can be taken against the officers in
failing duties i.e. drainage cleaning ?


Kalpeshkumar L Gupta
Academic Associate
IIM Ahmedabad
advocatekgupta@gmail.com
klgupta@iimahd.ernet.in
Mob 99248 97691
(c) K L Gupta