RTI - Notes Based on Previous Year Question Papers PDF

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Notes Based on Previous Year Question Papers...

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RTI Notes by Praveen Kumar

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Contents

UNIT 1 ....................................................................................................................................... 5 1.

Democracy thrives in transparency, but not in secrecy. Discuss. June 2011 ..................... 5

2.

The right to know is the outcome of judicial activism. Explain ......................................... 8

June 2011 ................................................................................................................................... 8 3. Free exchange of ideas is the basic pillar of a democracy. How can the RTI Act achieve the above said goal? Explain. January 2012 ............................................................................ 12 4. Sun light is the best disinfectant. RTI is the best for openness and accountability. Discuss with the help of case laws- June 2012 ..................................................................................... 15 5.

Explain the Supreme Court decisions on RTI Act. - June 2012 ...................................... 18

6. Examine the origin and development of the concept of “Right to Know” in India. Jan 2013.......................................................................................................................................... 21 UNIT 2 ..................................................................................................................................... 22 1.

What are the Salient Features of the RTI Act? ................................................................. 22

2. Examine the procedure to get information and the obligation of the Public Authorities to provide information. June 2011 ............................................................................................... 24 3.

Judgments of the Central Information Commission ......................................................... 36

4.

Judgements of Supreme Court Section wise .................................................................... 39

5.

The obligation of the Public Authorities to provide information. June 2011 ................... 42

6.

What information are exempted from disclosure? Refer to cases. June 2011 .................. 47

7.

Define ‘Information’ and ‘Right to Information’. Jan 2012 ............................................. 53

8.

Define Record, Competent Authority and Public Authority. January 2013..................... 56

9.

Write Short Notes on: ....................................................................................................... 59 a)

Identify the bottlenecks in the implementation of RTI Act, 2005 ................................ 59

b)

Explain the role of public information officers............................................................. 61

c)

Explain severability. .....................................................................................................63

d)

Explain third party information ....................................................................................65

e)

State the provisions relating to Suo moto disclosure by the public authority...............68

UNIT 3 ..................................................................................................................................... 70 1.

Explain the constitution of the Central Information Commission June 2011 .................. 70

2.

Explain the powers of the Central / State Information Commissions June 2011 .............74

3. Explain the procedure relating to Appeals provided under the Right to Information Act, 2005. June 2011 ....................................................................................................................... 77 4. Explain the procedure relating to Penalties provided under the Right to Information Act, 2005. June 2011 ....................................................................................................................... 86 5.

What is the Difference between a Complaint and an Appeal? .........................................92

6. Explain the terms and conditions of service of the Central Information Commissioner under the RTI Act 2005 Jan 2012 ............................................................................................ 93

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7. Explain the removal of Central Information Commissioner under the RTI Act 2005 Jan 2012.......................................................................................................................................... 95 8.

Explain the constitution, powers and functions of State Information Commission. ........97

9. Explain the functions and powers of the Appropriate Government under the RTI Act 2005........................................................................................................................................ 100 1.

Problems .........................................................................................................................103 a) A State Govt. appointed a sitting MLA as State Chief Information Commissioner. Is it valid ? .................................................................................................................................103 b) Can a voter file an RTI application before the SPIO of Police Department asking the antecedents of the contesting candidate for MLA of his constituency?............................. 103 c) An RTI activist filed an application before the CPIO seeking the bank accounts held by Indians in Foreign Banks. Advise. ................................................................................103 d) An applicant in his complaint requested the commission to impose penalty on PIO for non-supply of information within thirty days and also to award damages to him for the loss suffered. Decide .................................................................................................................103 e) A PIO who rejected a RTI application earlier, subsequently appointed as First Appellate Authority of a Department. Can he decide the case as First Appellate Authority? 103 f) Mr. ‘X’ filed a complaint to the commission against a public information officer for non-disclosure of information. Commission rejected his application with a direction to approach the first appellate authority. Advice the complaint. ...........................................103 g) A student of Government Medical College, Bangalore wants to marry his junior in the College. He files an RTI application before the college for disclosure of passouts in a Particular year. Is he entitled to information? .................................................................... 103 h) An applicant in his application sought reply from the Public Information officer of a Public Authority, why a librarian post in his department was lying vacant for the last 10 years. Is Public information officer bound to provide such information? .........................103 i) An applicant in his complaint requested the commission to impose Penalty on a public information officer for not transferring his application before the appropriate PIO under Section 6(3) of the Act. Is it valid? .................................................................................... 103

UNIT 4 ................................................................................................................................... 104 1. Explain the salient features of Public Records Act, 1993. State the Central Govt’s power to make rules under it............................................................................................................. 104 2.

Define Public Record. Discuss the powers of the Central Government relating to it. ...106

3. Explain the Objectives of the Public Records Act 1993. State the powers and responsibilities of the Record Officer. ................................................................................... 108 4.

Explain the salient features of the Public Records Act, 1993. .......................................110

5. Discuss the appointment and powers of a Commission Constituted under the Commissions of Enquiry Act, 1952....................................................................................... 113 6.

What is the importance of The Commission of Inquiry Act, 1952, India? ....................116

7. Describe the powers of the Commission and explain the penalties for its contempt under the Commission of Inquiry Act 1952..................................................................................... 121

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8. Explain the aims and objects of the Official Secrets Act 1923 and penalties provided under it ...................................................................................................................................122 9. Discuss the Salient Features of the Official Secrets Act 1923. What is its status after RTI Act 2005? ............................................................................................................................... 125

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UNIT 1 1. Democracy thrives in transparency, but not in secrecy. Discuss. June 2011 Synopsis Introduction Discussion Case Laws Conclusion Introduction Right to Information - Basic Human Right In a Democracy, Government is of the people, by the people and for the people. As per the Constitution of India we have adopted democratic form of Government. Democracy Before Democracy consisted in people, merely exercising their franchise once in five years to choose their rulers and, once the vote is cast, retiring in passivity and not taking any interest in the Government. Democracy Now Democracy now, has a more positive content and its orchestration has to be continuous and pervasive. True Democracy In a true Democracy, people should not only cast votes rationally and intelligently but should also exercise sound judgment on the conduct of the Government and the merits of public policies so that it becomes a continuous process of governance - an attitude and habit of mind. Open Government This important role of the people can be fulfilled only if it is an open Government, where there is full access to information with regard to the functioning of the Government. The citizens are entitled to accountability by the Government. For this, the people should have information about the functioning of Government. It is only if people know how Government is functioning that they can fulfil the role which democracy assigns to them and make democracy a really effective participatory democracy. There is also in every democracy a certain amount of public suspicion and distrust of Government, varying, of course, from time to time according to its performance, which prompts people to insist upon maximum exposure of its functioning. It is axiomatic that every action of the Government must be actuated by public interest but even then we find cases, where governmental action is taken not for public good but for personal gain or other extraneous considerations. Sometimes governmental action is influenced by political and other motivations and pressures, and, at times, there are also instances of misuse or abuse of authority on the part of the executive.

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Now, if secrecy were to be observed in the functioning of Government and the processes of Government were to be kept hidden from public scrutiny, it would tend to promote and encourage oppression, corruption and misuse or abuse of authority, for it would all be shrouded in the veil of secrecy without any public accountability. Freedom of expression/ discussion Freedom of expression has four broad social purposes to serve: (i) It helps an individual to attain self-fulfilment; (ii) It assists in the discovery of truth; (iii) It strengthens the capacity of an individual in participating in decision-making; and (iv) It provides a mechanism by which it would be possible to establish a reasonable balance between stability and social change. The public interest in freedom of discussion (of which the freedom of the press is one aspect) stems from the requirement that members of a democratic society should be sufficiently informed that they may influence intelligently the decisions which may affect themselves. A citizen has a fundamental right to use the best means of imparting and receiving information and as such to have an access to telecasting for the purpose. However, this right to have an access to telecasting has limitations on account of the use of public property. The citizens have a right to know about the affairs of the Government which having been elected by them. The disclosure of information in regard to the functioning of the Government must be the rule and secrecy an exception. However, like all other rights, even this right has recognised limitations; it is, by no means, absolute. Articles The right to impart and receive information is a species of the right of freedom of speech and expression guaranteed by Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution. Right of information, thus, indisputably is fundamental right," a basic human right. It is now beyond question that the community has a right to be supplied with information; and the Government has a duty to educate the people within the limits of its resource. Such right and the correspondent obligation is found in Article 41 of the Constitution of India. Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ratified in 1978) declares that "everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression: this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference, and to seek, and receive and impart information and ideas through any media "and regardless of frontier ". Article 19(2) places certain reasonable restrictions upon this freedom in the interest of certain human and professional values.

Case Laws The purpose of the press is to advance the public interest by publishing facts and opinions without which a democratic electorate cannot make responsible judgments. - Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) (P) Ltd. v. Union of India, AIR 1986.

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In Romesh Thappar v. State of Madras, the Supreme Court of India found the freedom of discussion to be included in Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution and the freedom of press to be an aspect of the freedom of discussion.... the fundamental principle ... .is the people's right to know'. In the cases of Sakal Papers (P) Ltd. v. B.N. Sarpotdar, Bennett Coleman & Co. and Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) P. Ltd. v. Union of India, the view first expressed in the Romesh Thappar judgment has been echoed and amplified. Be it the case of a magazine being banned in a locality or in quality newsprint being made more difficult to obtain or in Government advertisements being released in more favoured publications, the courts have discerned in several executive actions an attempt to stifle the press; and unmuzzled the right of expression on the touchstone of the larger societal interest to inform and to be kept informed. In the case of S.P. Gupta v. Union of India, it was held that exposure to public gaze and scrutiny is one of the surest means of achieving clean and healthy administration for it ensures effective participatory democracy and 'a popular Government without popular information or the means of obtaining it, is but a prologue to a farce or tragedy or perhaps both'. In the more recent cases of Dinesh Trivedi v. Union of India, and Vineet Narain v. Union of India, a citizen's right to know the affairs of the State has been talked of whether in the context of a report submitted by a committee or as to the background of a candidate at the husting. The Right to Information Act declares in its Statement of Objects and Reasons that it is to ensure better and more effective access to information and that it has been enacted for providing 'an effective framework for effectuating the right to information recognised under Article 19 of the Constitution of India.

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2. The right to know is the outcome of judicial activism. Explain June 2011 Introduction Human Dignity and Human Liberty are most precious and cannot be compromised at any cost. This was recognised by the world at large during the twentieth century, when human rights movement got momentum as never before. Human beings have some basic needs. Some Resources are required to meet these needs. They have the right to control these resources. Information of these resources are required for efficient control. Thus, they have the right to receive information of these resources. It is obvious from the Constitution of India that we have adopted a democratic form of Government. In a Democracy, Government is of the people, by the people and for the people. Hence, the citizens ought to know what their Government is doing. Keeping the citizens informed is an obligation of the Government. The citizens' right to know the true facts, about the administration of the country, is, one of the pillars of a democratic State. And that is why the demand for openness in the Government is increasingly growing in different parts of the world.- S.P. Gupta v. Union of India, AIR 1982 SC 149: (1981) Article 19 of the Constitution: "Protection of certain rights regarding freedom of speech etc.(1) All citizens shall have the right(a) to freedom of speech and expression; …… Article 19(2) places certain reasonable restrictions upon this freedom in the interest of certain human and professional values. The interpretation of the provisions of the Constitution is the duty of the Supreme Court of India and the law declared by the Supreme Court is binding under Article 141 of the Constitution of India which reads as under: "The law declared by the Supreme Court shall be binding on all courts within the territory of India." Article 19 of the Constitution of India has been interpreted to mean that right to information is one of the essential ingredients of Article 19(1). Right of information is a facet of the freedom of "speech and expression" as contained in Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution. Right of information, thus, indisputably is a fundamental right. The right to impart and receive information is a species of the right of freedom of speech and expression guaranteed by Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution. Article 19(1) and (2) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Article 19(1) and (2) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which reads as under: "(1) Everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference. (2) Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice.” All members of society should be able to form their own beliefs and communicate them freely to others. The purpose of the press is to advance the public interest by publishing facts and opinions without which a democratic electorate cannot make responsible judgments. In sum, the fundamental principle involved here is the people's right to know.

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Objectives The freedom of speech and expression is a right given to every citizen of this country. It encompasses freedom of press. The freedom of speech and expression includes right to acquire information and to disseminate it. It enables people to contribute to debates on social and moral issues. It is the best way to find a true model of anything, since it is only through it that the widest possible range of ideas can circulate. In modern constitutional democracies, it is axiomatic that citizens have a right to kn...