RIGHT TO INFORMATION IN INDIA

Kalpeshkumar L Gupta LL.M., MBL(NLSIU), M. Phil (Law), PGDM

Academic Associate – IIM Ahmedabad

RIGHT TO

INFORMATION

ACT IN INDIA

RIGHT TO

INFORMATION

ACT IN INDIA

Seminar on RTI , July 12, 2014 at IIMA

Right to Information in India :-

1. Introduction 2.Recent Scenario3.Practical Aspects4.Short film on RTI5.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.

“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 RTI Act ?

RTI in various countries :-

- Sweden (1766) Freedom of Press Act

- India is the 48th 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

- Pakistan (2013) Right to Information Act, 2013

- 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 statesbefore 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Amendment In 2008, repealed, New Law made in 2009)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 :-

Official Secret Act, 1923

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

Freedom of Information Act, 2002 (repealed in RTI Act, 2005)

Right to Information Act, 2005 passed in June 15, 2005 (w.e.f. October 12, 2005)

Objective of Right to Information Act, 2005 :-

-….in order to promote transparency and accountability in the working of every public authority,

-…..the constitution of a Central Information Commission (CIC) and State Information Commissions (SIC) and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

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.

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, MoH2. Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, MoF3. Border Security Force4. Central Reserve Police Force5. Central Industrial Security Force6. National Security Guards7. Research & Analysis Wing8. Defense Research & Development Organization9. 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

teacher’s absenteeism and student’s 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, June 14, 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 , May 29, 2011)

- 9 RTI application filed by school children in UP government’s health department demanding information why tobacco retail

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,

- 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

RTI plea by 9-year-old student prods authorities to check over-

speeding

Source :- http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-kerala/rti-plea-by-9yearold-student-prods-authorities-to-check-overspeeding/article4705006.ece May 11, 2013

S. NirupamaKerala

Army of RTI kid activists is coming up

I cannot vote but at least I can participate in the government functioning by seeking information,” said Pawan Deep Singh, a student of Class 8, who attended the meet.

“I am feeling empowered,” said Utkarsh Pandey, another Class 8 student.

Source :- http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Lucknow/Army-of-RTI-kid-activists-is-coming-up/Article1-1101162.aspx July 31, 2013

RTI Facilitation in Bihar

- 155310 for RTI Helpline

- 155311 for RTI Application/Appeal

- A Rs. 10 RTI application fee will be added to the telephone call charges (BSNL Only)

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 people’s discussion on the act and assist people to file application seeking information

RTI on Wheels on Jammu Kashmir Yatra – July 2014

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. 11th 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 30th 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

1. Congress – Rs. 1385.36 Crore2. BJP – Rs. 682 Crore3. NCP – Rs. 141.34 Crore4. BSP – Rs. 147.18 Crore5. 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

Subhash Chandra Aggarwal & Anil Bairwal

v/s.

INC, BJP, CPM, CPI, NCP, BSP

Decided byCIC – June 3, 2013

Parents use RTI to access answer papers of kid's classmates :- (Times of India, September 25, 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.

“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(6th 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.

- 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)

- 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.

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%TripuraManipur

Effectiveness: 50 to 60%Karnataka

Effectiveness: 40 to 50%AssamKerelaGujaratPunjabOrissaBihar

Effectiveness: 30 to 40%JharkhandMadhya PradeshHimachal PradeshChattisgarhUttarakhandGoaHaryanaMaharashtra

Effectiveness: 20 to 30%Andhra PradeshCentral Information CommissionRajasthanWest Bengal

Inadequate DataMeghalayaMizoram

* 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

A case study in the chapter depicts how a group of daily-wage labourers, in a backward Chhattisgarh village, were being paid lower than mandated wages. A labourer's niece comes to know of the Act and files a petition under it, and secures the correct wage for the workers.

Chhatisgarh puts a chapter on RTI Act in school books :-

The Indian Express, January 18, 2014

Some other latest news :-

- 66,000 RTI complaints pending in six info panels, Maharashtra tops list (TOI, July 6, 2014)

- Fill all posts of information commissioners by August 14: Rajasthan High Court. (TOI, July 5, 2014)

- RTI Info Penal feels powerless as Respondents ignore orders (The New Indian Express, June 23, 2014)

- RTI his extortion tools (The Indian Express, June 30, 2014)

- Citizens to attach ID proof with RTI applications : Punjab & Haryana High Court. (Hindustan Times, January 3, 2013)

- Judicial delays are big threat to RTI : Shailesh Gandhi (DNA, August 30, 2010)

December 24, 2013

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)

Cont..

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)

Cont..

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

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 16th 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 Whistle Blowers Protection Act, 2011 (No 17of 2014) :-

Law came into effect May 12, 2014

Complainant can make complaint to Competent Authority i.e. Central Vigilance Commission or any prescribed.

Penalty for revealing identity of complainant – upto 3 years imprisonment and fine upto 50, 000. (Section 16)

Punishment for false or frivolous disclosure – upto 2 years and fine upto 30, 000 (Section 17)

New DelhiFebruary 4, 2014

MISUSE OF RTI :- “Man files 550 RTIs for “missing wife”(The Times of India, Mumbai 25/07/2011)

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

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, July 27, 2011)

MISUSE OF RTI :- HC fines man Rs 50,000 for seeking private information RTI (DNA, Mumbai, 7th 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 9th, 2011CBSE Anrs. v/s. Aditya Bandopadhyay’s Anrs. (Civil Appeal 6454/2011 Supreme Court)

- …….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.

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)

Rates of Fees for other charges 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

* 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

APPELLATE AUTHORITY


Vice Chancellor


STATE PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER

Registrar


STATE PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER

Registrar


STATE INFORMATION COMISSIONER

Bureau of Economics & Statistics Building

Sector 18

Gandhinagar 3

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

1st Appl.

90 days2nd Appeal

APPEAL TO BE DISPOSED IN 30 DAYS EXTENDED TO 45 DAYSAPPEAL TO BE DISPOSED IN 30 DAYS EXTENDED TO 45 DAYS

No time limit

for disposal

No time limit

for disposal

INFORMATION TO BE GIVEN IN 30 DAYSINFORMATION TO BE GIVEN IN 30 DAYS

APPELLATE AUTHORITY


Aaykar Bhavan

Ahmedabad 2

APPELLATE AUTHORITY


Aaykar Bhavan

Ahmedabad 2

CENTRAL PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER

Aaykar Bhavan

Ahmedabad 1

CENTRAL PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER

Aaykar Bhavan

Ahmedabad 1

CENTRAL INFORMATION COMMISSIONER

August Kranti Bhavan,

Bhikaji Kama Place

New Delhi 110 066 3

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

1st Appl.

90 days

2nd Appeal

APPEAL TO BE DISPOSED IN 30 DAYS EXTENDED TO 45 DAYSAPPEAL TO BE DISPOSED IN 30 DAYS EXTENDED TO 45 DAYS

No time limit

for disposal

No time limit

for disposal

INFORMATION TO BE GIVEN IN 30 DAYSINFORMATION 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 didn’t 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 ActPTI | 10:10 PM, Oct 01,2010New 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.

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 1st Appeal

RTI 2nd Appeal

RTI Application

RTI 1st Appeal

RTI 2nd Appeal

Order of 2nd 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.)

RECOMMENDATION

Full disclosure (Pro-active) under Section 4(1)(b) of RTI Act.

RTI application/appeal formats standardization.

Various payment options for RTI application fees.

Benches of Commission to be established in the state as per necessity.

Whistle Blower’s Bill to be passed at the earliest.

Video conferencing facility to be installed in Commission’s office for hearing appeal/complaint.

Vacancies of Information Commissioners to be filled up at the earliest both at the Central Level and State Level. Appeals, Complaints are pending for months/years because of existing vacancies.

Robust Centralized Online RTI application/appeal mechanism to be set up.

Paper on “8 Years of RTI Act in India : An Appraisal (Kalpeshkumar L Gupta)

Cont..

RECOMMENDATION

Faster letter dispatch from office of Commission. In most of the cases letter is prepared with a date, officials will sign the letter after few days putting date of signature and ultimately it will be dispatched after few days of official’s signature. This process takes 5-10 days.

Helpline centre for RTI application/appeal to be set up.

RTI Application facilitation centre to be set up at big public authority office.

Intensive campaign for RTI Awareness as envisioned in Section 26 of RTI Act, 2005.

SMS alert service to be started for hearing date. Reminder to be sent to parties 1-2 in advance.

* Paper on “8 Years of RTI Act in India : An Appraisal

(C) K L GUPTA(C) K L GUPTA

Click on PA/FC

Figure 1 : Online RTI Application Flow


Figure 1 : Online RTI Application Flow


[email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

SOME IMPORTANT WEBSITES :-

1. www.rti.gov.in (Govt. of India’s most imp website on RTI)2. www.cic.gov.in (Central Information Commissioner, New Delhi3. www.rti.india.gov.in 4. 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 websites of other State Information Commissionersfor 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 GuptaAcademic Associate IIM [email protected]@iimahd.ernet.inwww.klgupta.inMob 99248 97691 (c) K L Gupta

RIGHT TO INFORMATION IN INDIA

Education

Transcript of RIGHT TO INFORMATION IN INDIA