Published Paper Details:

There can be no dispute that the RTI Act, 2005 is enacted with the avowed objective of conferring a statutory right on the citizens in India to have access to Government-controlled information or to seek information from Central Government/State Governments, local bodies and other competent authorities as a matter of right. The idea is that it would prove to be instrumental in bringing in transparency and accountability in Government and Public Institutions which would help in bringing the growth of corruption in check. The scope of the RTI Act is wide enough to cover all the Constitutional Institutions and subject to exemptions, universally applies to all Public Authorities. Indiscriminate and impractical demands or directions under RTI Act for disclosure of all and sundry information (unrelated to transparency and accountability in the functioning of public authorities and 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 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, tranquility and harmony among its citizens. Nor should it be converted into a tool of oppression or intimidation of honest officials striving to do their duty. The nation does not want a scenario where 75% of the staff of public authorities spends 75% of their time in collecting and furnishing information to applicants instead of discharging their regular duties. The threat of penalties under the RTI Act and the pressure of the authorities under the RTI Act should not lead to employees of a public authorities prioritizing 'information furnishing', at the cost of their normal and regular duties. Right to information is a basic and celebrated fundamental/basic right but is not uncontrolled. It has its limitations. The right is subject to a dual check. Firstly, this right is subject to the restrictions inbuilt within the Act and secondly the constitutional limitations emerging from Article 21 of the Constitution. Thus, wherever in response to an application for disclosure of information the public authority takes shelter under the provisions relating to exemption, non-applicability or infringement of Article 21 of the Constitution the Information Commission has to apply its mind and form an opinion objectively if the exemption claimed for was sustainable on facts of the case.