RTI-CLATGyan

8/2/2019 RTI-CLATGyan

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The Right to Information Act

What is information? a message received and understood Knowledge acquired through study or experience or instruction Formal accusation of a crime Data: a collection of facts from which conclusions may be drawn; "statistical data" (communication theory) a numerical measure of the uncertainty of an outcome; "the

signal contained thousands of bits of information"

What is RTI act?RTI is an acronym for Right to Information. Under the provisions of this Act, any citizen

(excluding the citizens within Jammu and Kashmir) may request information from a "public

authority" (a body of Government or "instrumentality of State") which is required to replyexpeditiously or within thirty days. The Act also requires every public authority to computerize

their records for wide dissemination and to proactively publish certain categories of information

so that the citizens need minimum recourse to request for information formally.

What are the rights an individual has under this act?An individual under this RTI act has the following rights:

Request any information (as defined). Take copies of documents. Inspect documents, works and records. Take certified samples of materials of work. Obtain information in form of printouts, diskettes, floppies, tapes, video cassettes 'or in

any other electronic mode' or through printouts.

What are the objectives of right to information act?The information of the right to information is to empower the citizens, promote

transparency and accountability in the working of the government, contain corruption, and

make our democracy work for the people in real sense. An informed citizenry will be better

equipped to keep necessary vigil on the instrument of governance and make the government

more accountable to the governed. The act has created a practical regime through which the

citizens of the country may have access to information under the control of public authorities.


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What are the rights of citizen under the right to information act?Under this Right to information act citizen has

A right to seek such information from public authority which is held by the publicauthority or which is held under its control. This right includes inspection of work,

documents and records; taking notes, extracts or certified copies of documents or

records; taking certified samples of material held by the public authority or held

under the control of the public authority.

The public authority under the RTI Act is not supposed to create information; or tointerpret information; or to solve the problems raised by the applicants; or to furnishreplies to hypothetical questions. Only such information can be had under the Act

which already exist with the public authority.

A citizen has a right to obtain information in the form of diskettes, floppies, tapes,video cassettes or in any other electronic mode or through print-outs provided

information is already stored in a computer or in any other device from which the

information may be transferred to diskettes, etc..

The information to the applicant shall ordinarily be provided in the form in which it issought. However, if the supply of information sought in particular form would

disproportionately divert the resources of the public authority or may cause harm to

the safety or preservation of the records, supply of the information in that form may

be denied.

The Act gives the right to information only to the citizens of India. It does not makeprovision for giving information to corporations, association, company, NGO etc...

Who is also a citizen of India, information shall be supplied to him/her provided the

applicant his/her full name. In such cases, will be presumed that a citizen has sought

information at the address of the corporation etc..

Under what circumstances does the citizen not given the information appliedfor?

The citizen will be not given the information which he/she applied for if the particular

informations disclosure or publication -

Affect sovereignty of India.


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Is expressly forbidden by a court of law, or will lead to contempt of court Will lead to violation and breakdown of privilege of parliament or state legislatures. Includes trade secrets, commercial confidence and intellectual property. Includes information received in confidence from a foreign government Would endanger ones life or physical safety.

Would impede the process of investigation or apprehension or prosecution of offenders;

What is partial disclosure?The Act allows those part(s) of the record which are not exempt from disclosure and

which can reasonably be severed from parts containing exempt information to be

provided.

Whom does the Act apply?

The Act gives a citizen, right to accesses to all information held by public authorities. The term

public authority includes any authority or body or institution of self government established or

constituted by the:

By or under the constitution By any other law made by the parliament, By any other law made by the State legislature And also includes, bodies owned, controlled or substantially financed directly or

indirectly by the state funds.

Thus the Act applies to:

The executives of the Union, States and the Union Territories Parliament, State legislatures, legislatures of the union territories, panchayaths and

municipalities,

The Supreme Court, High courts and Subordinate Courts.What role does government play?

Section 26 of the Act enjoins the central government, as also the state governments of the

Republic of India (excluding J&K), to initiate necessary steps to:

Develop educational programmes for the public especially disadvantagedcommunities on RTI.


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Encourage Public Authorities to participate in the development and organization of

such programmes.

Promote timely dissemination of accurate information to the public. Train officers and develop training materials. Compile and disseminate a User Guide for the public in the respective official

language. Publish names, designation postal addresses and contact details of PIOs and otherinformation such as notices regarding fees to be paid, remedies available in law if

request is rejected etc

(Sanya Samtani for SICHREM, all rights belong to the organization)

Documents

RTI-CLATGyan