Open Access Research Article
RTI: A Modern Tool For Empowerment And Exploitation (By: Arya Vansh Kamrah, Bishrant Khatiwada & Rohan Johnson )
Published Paper
Article Details
RTI: A
Modern Tool For Empowerment And Exploitation
Authored By: Arya Vansh Kamrah, Bishrant Khatiwada & Rohan Johnson
Course: BBA LLB (Hons.)
Batch: 2020-2025
Institute: Symbiosis Law School, Pune
Abstract
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Right to Information is an enabling right which provides
the common people a chance to keep a check on the functioning of its
government. It is a cornerstone of every successful democracy. It paves a way
for the people and organisations to seek information from a public entity
working on behalf of the government. The RTI officials are required to
respond to such a request within 30 days. The goal of this paper is to demonstrate
how the Right to Information (also referred to as 'RTI') Amendment Act of
2019 undermines the ground-breaking RTI Act of 2005. RTI in a democratic
society is an instrumental tool to add weight to voice of people for good
governance whereas the same has been misused for people with their ulterior
motive. Here are both good and has instances regarding the same. Majority of
people still are unknown about the act, Judiciary has been key in pointing
out use of RTI and providing people with solutions or discarding unreasonable
ask of people through use of RTI.
The purpose of this article is to explain how the RTI
institution operates and the function of Information Commissioners within it.
The paper goes on to explain how the RTI Amendment Act of 2019 dismantles the
RTI Act of 2005's core underpinnings. To justify this notion, the author
will examine what the RTI Amendment Act really implies for the nation as a
whole, as well as how it would entirely undermine the openness promised to
people. The paper will then elaborate the prospective impacts of
the amendment, explaining that how the Information Commissioners have
become pawns in the hands of the central government as a result of the 2019
amendment. The paper is finally concluded with some fruitful recommendations
which can enhance the efficacy of the institution of the RTI.
METHODOLOGY: The research is based on
secondary data from various sources.
KEYWORDS: RTI Act 2005, RTI (Amendment) Act, 2019, Information
Commissioner, Central Government, Democracy, People, Administration.
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Introduction
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India has the distinction of being
the world's largest democracy. The cornerstones of a democratic system are transparency,
accountability, public engagement, and interaction. Public engagement is only
feasible when citizens are informed on what is going on in the country, such as
the government's plans and initiatives for the welfare of its citizens. In
India, administrative authorities have broad discretionary powers, which
frequently raise public concerns about mismanagement, corruption, and power
abuse. Transparency, accountability, predictability, and participation are the
four core characteristics of good governance.
Right to Information (RTI) encourages
government institutions to operate with greater openness and accountability,
allowing them to function more fairly. Furthermore, providing individuals with
government information allows them to engage in the democratic process. As a
result, the right to information promotes effective government.
It is notable to mention that with all good things, bad
things follows soon. People for good have used RTI whereas it is being misuse
too. In name of RTI, people have been trying to misuse the right provided to
them under the act. This paper aims to deliver both aspects of RTI in Indian
context.
1.
HOW RTI HELPS IN GOOD GOVERNANCE
There is no need to think
twice that RTI is closely linked to good governance, as transparence and
accountability are pillars of good governance. The true goal of representative
government is welfare of people as it is arguably an effective tool for
obtaining good governance in Democratic society. [1]
1.1 How RTI is important from people’s
point of view
From people’s point of view (being a
commoner), we can establish certain perspective of citizens:
a.
People pay taxes to the government
and contribute to the income of government
b.
The same tax is taken and contributed
to the development of society.
c.
People, in a society where there is
no development always wonder what has happened to the taxes they paid
d.
For them it is justifiable to be
concerned about access to the whereabouts of the plans and schemes of the
government, which is ignited after people, pay their taxes.
RTI is a tool via which
people are provided with access to the information with certain boundary. In
addition, they can opt to take legal action in case they discover some
misconduct in the information provided.
1.2 Empowerment of common people via RTI
If we look into what was
people’s stand before the introduction of RTI, we can see that people did not
have a say in the socio-political decisions made by the government. Following,
which, people started to feel that they were being ignored and excluded, and a
sense of indifference towards the policies of the government. There was always
a sort of secrecy from the government’s side with respect to the policies of
the government. People’s perspective what that they had the right to know what
was going on and that their opinion and voices should be taken into account as
they were the ones who were in direct consequences of those policies. [2]
The introduction of the
act in 2005 made an environment for citizens. It provided the citizens with
access to information. It equipped them with a voice in political and economic
decision taken by the government.
1.3 Accomplishment by RTI: Examples
The RTI has provided
citizens with a module of optimistic transparency and accountability. Some
examples of the same can be seen as[3]:
a. Adarsh Scam: wherein, in place where a
6-storeyed building was supposed to be made for widows and war heroes of kargil
war, therein a 31-storey building was erected. Two activist presented with an
application in the court, following which a revelation was made that the land
did not belong to Government of Maharashtra but to Ministry of Defense.
b. 2G Scam: the fraud was led by Adimuthu Raja, which involved telecom
ministry. The same reveled the rot of corruption in the congress party. The
same fraud was a revelation of RTI, wherein some officials took the bribery
worth more than 150,000Cr was brought in front of the public.
c. Indian Red Cross Society Scam: After enactment of RTI, the public
were able to question public authority and ask the information for the same.
Red Cross society had diluted the funds which was supposed for Relief and
Rehabilitation for people who suffered from natural disaster during the Kargil
war. After people asked for the documentation of the same, it was revealed that
the said fund was used to buy luxurious goods by a certain IAS officer.
1.4 Amendment of 2019: Criticism by
people
After the 2019 amendment
of the Act, Article 13 of the same have entrusted that salary of the
information commissioner to be decided by the Central Government. The people
have heavily criticized the same. The Amendment has taken power from the people
and empowered the government. Before the amendment came into picture, more than
6000 cases were being filed on a daily basis. It is believed among the mass
that the amendments has challenged the independence of the act.
1.5 Findings from (6)
From above, I am of the
opinion that RTI can be a very powerful tool if used in the correct way. RTI is
not just an information provider, it is something more, it is a tool that
empowers the common people to be involved in the decision making process. RTI
in a developing country like India can be seen as a true essence of good
governance whose effective implementation is needed as Abuse of authority can
be controlled by the act. RTI and transparency acts as a bridge for trust
between people and the government. By valid implementation of this act, people
can sleep safely knowing they can rely on their government
2.
MISUSE OF RTI
It is arguable that in
the process of implementation of laws there will always be some people who will
misuse the same. Like how police seems to misuse, their powers sometimes to
suppress law, and like how some clever criminals misuse judicial system by
prolonging the trial process. There is misuse of laws is always dependent on
the society as it comprises of different kind of people in the society and other
factor is based on judiciary’s power to punish the wrongdoers. Can it be said
with 100% confidence that only goo people will use RTI for benefit of society
and not the other way around?[4]
2.1 Blackmailing
People when they find out
a small mistake on behalf of someone, which can cost them their job, will
directly, go on to blackmail them regarding the same for monetary benefits. To
be able to blackmail someone who has been indulged in some illegal activity,
there are some illegal actions. The blackmailer can threaten an illegal action
saying that they will expose their act and subsequently extort money for the
same. This does not mean that everyone will do the same, but there is no
denying that someone will be doing this.
2.2 Election Agenda
RTI is a powerful means to
turn something up and down. People can be influenced quickly. Like the proverb,
”everything is fair in love and war”,
people go out of their way to claim a seat in election be it internal or
external elections. There has been instances wherein people have provoked
someone about some insights and made them file a case regarding the same under
RTI. This leads in their image being bad for the time being and hence led to
misuse of the same. This can be taken in good way as well as bad. He can file a
case himself but provoking others to file on his behalf for some ulterior
motives is bad. There are some instances that such filed cases are based on
lies fed to them by politicians only to make their oppositions image bad during
the elections.
2.3 Social media Influence
Social media has provided
people with a platform to express their views and thoughts about things. We
know that 75% of things in social media is manipulative or manipulated
media/things. RTI has proven its worth in a democratic society as people began to
question authority and the concerned authority had to answer the same. RTI
helps to see what we want to protect when it comes to use of platforms for
receiving and imparting information without any interference from government or
a third party. People have tendency to post with little knowledge and it is
circulated to a mass, and hence sometimes wrong news can affect people. Little
knowledge is dangerous and not all things we see in social media are true.
3. Comparative Analysis: Practical
Application Of The Rti
The following are brief accounts of
various scandals that were brought to light by exercise of the right to
information.
3.1
The Commonwealth Games Scandal
An RTI petition in 2010 turned out to
reveal one a major Indian scam which involved a gigantic sum of around Rs.
70,000. The money allotted and used for the event was poorly used – allocating
poor facilities to the athletes, employing services for inflated prices and
disregarding services that were offered at reasonable prices. The revelation of
this scandal led to the accused members of the scandal being charged for
criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery and also under the Prevention of
Corruption Act.
3.2
Unused MLA funds
The residents of Pandav Nagar
approached their MLA with a request for the construction of a street. However,
the MLA denied their application stating that the fund had already been
exhausted. The residents subsequently applied a RTI petition and requesting the
total amount allocated, the expenditure of the amount and the remaining
balance. The RTI later revealed that the MLA had been allocated a sum of Rs. 2
crores for developmental purposes, which had not been expended and was sitting
idly with the MLA. The revelation of this information rendered the MLA unable
to deny the construction of a street and thus the street was constructed.
3.3
The Adarsh Society Scam
The Adarsh Housing Society is a
31-story building which was constructed for the widows of the Kargil war
martyrs. However, the building was soon occupied by politicians, bureaucrats
and military officers. An RTI issued by RTI activists Simpreet Singh and
Yogasharya Anandji revealed that these occupants had bend several rules to
occupy the flats at below market rates. It was revealed that the land in which
the building was built did not belong to the state government but instead to
the Ministry of Defence. This revelation soon forced the then Chief Minister of
Maharashtra – Ashok Chavan to resign.
3.4
The 2G Scam
With the onset of 2G in the telecom
sector, it was revealed by a RTI filed by activist Subash Chandra Agarwal that
certain ministers had colluded with mobile phone companies to undercharge them
while allocating frequencies in return of a bribe. This RTI exposed several
leaders such as the then telecom minister A Raja and the DMK leader Kanimozhi
3.5
The Indian Red Cross Society Scam
A RTI filed by a NGO Resurgent India,
revealed that funds collected by the Indian Red Cross Society in the name of
Kargil War Relief, Orissa Cyclone Relief and Gujarat Earthquake Relief never
reached the said victims and was instead used for other purposes such as by
electronics, furniture and covering restaurant bills. The RTI revealed large
scale diversion of grants from the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment,
Ministry of Health and Family and also corruption on behalf senior IAS
officers.
4. Critical Analysis
Before the introduction of the RTI,
the secrecy in the various government operations often provided ample
opportunity for officials to participate in corrupt practices, such as
diverging public funds, taking bribes, adapting inefficient methods to carry
out their functions, etc. These corrupt practices in turn were damaging to the
citizens and the underprivileged in particular, as in many cases funds that
were collected for them, never reached them.
This resulted in a atmosphere of distrust and scepticalness about the
government.
This cynicism has however reduced to
a great extent with the introduction of the Right to Information Act 2005. The
act has brought about greater administrative and executive efficiency by
putting a spotlight on several ongoing corrupt practices. Further the
establishment of institutions such as the Central and State Information
Commissions has helped ensure transparency in the implementation of the act.
By reducing the unnecessary secrecy that surrounded the decision-making
process, the Right to Information is expected to improve the quality of
decision-making by public authorities in both policy and administrative
affairs. It also allows organisations and individuals to learn about the
criteria used by government entities when making decisions. It is envisaged
that this will improve the quality of participatory democratic democracy by
allowing all citizens to participate in a more complete and informed manner.
The citizens of the country will be
able to understand the government's performance by ensuring access to necessary
information and knowledge, and the cumulative impact of such a procedure will
be the control of corruption and the arbitrary exercise of authority. Public
accountability is an aspect of governance, and the government is made up of
public servants who are held accountable to the public for their work.
As a result, accountability and
governance are integral parts of the government, which serves as both a
principle and an agent in the public realm. When a government agency transforms
a government policy into a programme, the success of the transaction is heavily
reliant on a clear knowledge and outcome of the desired outcome. It should come
as no surprise that the history of public accountability and governance has
changed from assessing inputs to measuring outputs, and from matching outputs
to defining outcomes. Thus, the only thing that undermines the government's or
the public sector's accountability or effectiveness is a lack of information on
any subject and this weakness has been greatly mitigated by RTI.
4.1
The Loopholes and limitations
Despite these wildly positive
results, RTI is still subject to several limitations and cannot provide
accountability or transparency in certain areas where umbrella protection is
provided in the form of exemptions. A system of bureaucracy wherein secrecy and
opaqueness are of the essence, still exists. Certain laws, such as the Official
Secrets Acts, 1923 that were introduced in colonial times still exists, makes
the disclosure of official information by public authorities to the citizens,
an offence. [5]
Further ambiguities exist in certain
definitions of the act while can and are being exploited by authorities.
Section 4 of the RTI act which requires proper maintenance of records and
easily availability/dissemination of the said records is yet to be implemented
strictly and the element of suo motu is absent as the due internal process to
be followed has not been described by the act.
The RTI amendment bill, 2019 has
further posed a threat to the power and incentives of the Central Information
Commission, with the bill proposing amendments to provisions which dictate the
salary and term of the Chief/State Information Commissioners. The Bill has also
proposed bringing the Information Commission more under the power of the
Central government, which would severely deter the autonomy of the commission.
This is possible due to sections 27 and 28 of the Act which give "state
governments" and "competent authorities" the authority to set
their own rules, which in many ways contradicts the RTI Act. Many competent
authorities, state governments, and corrupt bureaucracies or officials make
extensive use of this law.[6]
5. Judicial Standing WRT RTI
Decisions highlighting the Importance
of Right to Information
1. The Right to Information Act, or RTI
Act, is a piece of 21st-century law that gives Indian citizens a legislative
right to information. In the case of
State of Uttar Pradesh v. Raj Narain[7],
even before the enactment of RTI Act, the Supreme Court held that it is an
inherent right of the citizens of India to access any and every information
which affects the public. The court held that the people are entitled to know
the particulars of every transaction taking place in the public domain.
2. Thereafter, the Hon’ble Supreme Court
of India in the landmark case of S.P. Gupta v. President of India
& Ors.[8]
recognised the Right to Information as a Fundamental Right. The court
stated that the transparent functioning of a government emanates from the right
to knowledge. This right the court argued can be traced as a part of the
Freedom of Speech and Expression, as stated under Article 19(1)(a). On the
basis of this rationale, it was observed that it is the obligation of the
government to disclose information regarding its functioning, in order to
maintain transparency in the whole system.
3. In the case of Bennett
Coleman V. Union of India[9] it
was ruled that Right to Know, which is a subset of Freedom of Speech and
Expression, is the foundation around which the Right to Information is built. A
person has a basic right to access information, and the government is obligated
to defend that right and create chances for it to be used successfully.
4. It was vehemently held in the case of
R.P. Limited V. Proprietors, Indian Express Newspapers, Bombay, Pvt.
Ltd.[10]
that the citizens must have access to information in order to participate in
the democratic framework of a country. Such a right to information equips people with a free society with the
tools they need to successfully thrive as a democratic entity, thus expanding
the notion of the Article 21 of the Indian Constitution.
5. A landmark judgement was also
delivered in the case of Union of India V. Association for Democratic
Reforms[11] , where the court held that in order
to introduce transparency in the process of elections, it is necessary for the electors
to have access to the criminal records and details about the financial
conditions of the candidates running for the elections.
6. UPSC V. Angesh Kumar[12],
wherein some unsuccessful candidates in 2010 Civil services exam approached
court for directions regarding UPSC to disclose details of marks awarded to
them including he cut off marks for every subjects, scaling methodology, model
answers and complete list of results of all candidates. The court directed to disclose raw marks as well as the model answers
of the questions of the examination under section 3 and 6 of the act.[13]
7. UOI V CIC[14],
wherein the petitioner in the case challenged a certain order of CIC whereby
CIC declared,” The ministers in the union
government and all states governments as public authorities under section 2(h)
of RTI”. The court was of opinion that,” the order of CIC is to be set aside and the directions issued by the
CIC in the case was beyond the scope of CIC. Moreover the question is not to be
raised in the first glimpse at all”[15].
8. Harinder Dhingra V Bar
association[16],
wherein the appellant sought information related to the number of complaints
against advocates, cases which were disposed and violation of Advocate act. The
court was of opinion that,” The bar
council is a statutory body that was constituted as per the advocates act. The
purpose of which is to protect the ethical standards of advocates and punish
members for misconduct. The court held that Bar councils are liable to provide
information as per the RTI.”[17]
9. Shri Vijay Kamble V Custom
Department,[18]
Mumbai, wherein the appellant asked for copies, which was subject to cause
notices and other documents during the proceedings by DRI and currently under
adjudicating by the CPIO and the authority, had declined to disclose the
information of the same under section 8 of the Act. The court was of opinion
that,” RTI cannot be invoked to access
the information related to that proceedings. If intervention for disclosure of
the information related to an outgoing adjudication process is allowed, the
same will lead to questions being asked about proceeding before courts. The
same would be in contravention of Separation of power under constitution of
India.”[19]
10. Chandrakant Vrajlal Fichadiya V
State of Gujrat[20],
wherein the petitioner filed an application seeking a copy of map under RTI
which was a third party information, which can only be revealed after getting
consent from third party. The court held
that the same can only be disclosed if it falls under public interest and only
if the map doesn’t cause any kind of harm or injury to such third party.[21]
11. People’s Union Of Civil Liberties
vs. Union Of India[22], wherein
the court was of opinion that, “ The ask
of petitioner in this case in unconstutional. the ask of petitioner is
subjected to nullyfing the effect of any order or judgement which requires
disclosure of information. The Act should be allowed to bloom and grow”.[23]
12. R.K Jain V UOI[24], wherein the couirt was of opinion that, “
the information with regards to charges and penalties imposed on employees and
the records of the same are matters of relationship between employer and
employee and the disclosure has no relationship to any public activity”.[25] This case is an example of media
manipulation which caused unwanted attention towards people started by their
rival groups.
6.
Findings
RTI has been an effective
instrument to promote transparency and accountability in administration. There
has been lack of awareness among majority of people which is required for
effective use of the act. Following which government programs and other related
services has not reached to all public as a result of this people from backward
class are disadvantage on the receiving end of corrupt practices prevailing in
root level and nepotism by the government.[26] Several
RTI activists have been attacked in various states. Despite this, I believe RTI
is a necessary and strong tool. The government must protect RTI advocates.
a.
There is inconsistencies in the
Public Distribution system.
b.
There has been improvement in
accountability and performance of the government
c.
There has been reduction in
corruption in the government department
d.
Before, RTI the staffs and officer
were very sluggish in their work and now they have become active in their duty.
e.
The government staffs were not
conscious before whereas now they have been doing their work consciously.
f.
Before enactment of the RTI, proper
action with respect to public grievances and complaints were not being taken
whereas now all concerned officials have been serious with respect to all
complaints of the same.
g.
Lack of awareness among people has
made its application limited to less people.
h.
People have been using RTI to obtain
their ulterior motive.
i.
RTI has been misused to some extent.
j.
Sometimes RTI makes people feel like
a mad person shouting in front of a deaf wall.
k.
It is an effective tool for prisoners
who seek information under RTI
l.
Motive of RTI is not to disclose any
information which will cause in loss or harm to any third person directly.
m.
RTI activists have been attacked and
threatened in order to keep them silent.
n.
RTI doesn’t let people intervene
which is not of their use or subject to their knowledge( like the dialogue
‘none of your business’)
o.
RTI has been introduced keeping in
mind the constant grievances of public.(lack of transperancy, accountability,
lack of institutional machinery and information)
7.
The Amendments Under The Right To
Information (Amendment) Act, 2019
§ This Amendment has made changes to
Section 13 and 14 of the Act. The changes incorporated are relating to the term
of the Chief Information Commissioner, the State Information Commissioner, and Information Commissioner.
Initially the terms of these information officers was kept for five years or
until the age of retirement (which in their case was set at 65 years). The
newly modified law, on the other hand, gives the Central Government the
authority to dictate the duration of the office for commissioners as it sees
proper.[27]
§ The compensation received by the CIC
and the Central Information Commissioner was in tandem with the compensation
received by the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and Election Commissioner.
The compensation received by the Chief State Information Commissioner (CSIC)
and State Information Commissioners were previously identical to those of the
state's Election Commissioner, and the SIC's salary was equivalent to that of
the state's Chief Secretary. The newly passed amendment act empowers the
central government to decide the compensation and other terms of service of the
Chief Information Commissioner and Information Commissioners, as well as the
State Chief Information Commissioner and State Information Commissioners.[28]
§ Finally, under the newly modified
law, if the Chief Information Commissioner or any other Information
Commissioner receives a pension or other retirement benefits from past
government work, their wages will be reduced by an amount equal to that
pension.
A comprehensive comparative
table below portrays the difference in the original act and the amendment act.[29]
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Provisions relating to the Act
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RTI Act, 2005
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RTI (Amendment) Act, 2019
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Term
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The Chief
Information Commissioner (CIC) and the Information Commissioners (ICs) (at
the central and state levels) will serve five-year terms.
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The Amendment Act
removes this provision and states that the central government will have the
authority over the term of office for the CIC and the ICs.
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Quantum of Salary
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The compensation
received by the CIC and the Central Information Commissioner was in tandem
with the compensation received by the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and
Election Commissioner.
The compensation
received by the Chief State Information Commissioner (CSIC) and State
Information Commissioners (SIC) were previously identical to those of the
state's Election Commissioner, and the SIC's salary was equivalent to that of
the state's Chief Secretary.
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The Amendment Act
removes this provision and states that the central government will have the
authority over the compensation and the terms of service of the Chief
Information Commissioner and Information Commissioners, as well as the State
Chief Information Commissioner and State Information Commissioners.
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Deductions in Salary
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According to the
Act, if the CIC and ICs (at the union and state levels) are receiving a
pension or other retirement benefits for past government work, their salary
will be cut by an amount equivalent to the pension at the time of their
appointment.
Previous
government service includes: (i) service with the union government, (ii)
service with the state government, (iii) service with a corporation formed
under union or state law, and (iv) service with a firm owned or
controlled by the union or state government.
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The Amendment Act
invalidates these provisos.
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8. Criticisms To The Amendment
v VIOLATION OF THE 2014 PRE-LEGISLATIVE
CONSULTATION POLCY
The government formulated some drafts
and suggestions were taken up between 2012 and 2017 to alter the RTI Act of
2005. The government, anyhow, amended the original act without taking in
suggestions from the public stakeholders.[30] In 2014, the government passed a Pre-Legislative Consultation Policy,
according to which every government body needs to float the proposed draft of
the bill for public consideration.[31]
The government ignored the public
opinion and disregarded Pre-Legislative Consultation Policy by not floating the
draft for public opinion.[32]
v DISMANTLES THE FEDERAL CHARACTERISTICS
OF THE RTI ACT, 2005
The compensation and allowances paid to the Central Information
Commissioners are from consolidated funds of India, whereas for SIC the
payments are made from the state’s consolidated funds. The amendment tarnishes
the federal ideals of the constitution because earlier there was a justified
split of authority between the union and state legislature in terms of the pay
and terms of service. The federal character of the RTI Act's legislative system
is disintegrated as a result of the modifications.[33] The powers vested in the state by virtue of Section 27 of the RTI Act,
2005 to make rules regarding the compensation and allowances of SIC has been
frivolously transferred to the Centre.
v CURTAILS THE INDEPENDENCE OF THE
INFORMATION COMMISSIONERS
The post of the Chief Information
Commissioner, who shared the same status as that of an Election Commissioner,
has been downgraded. The status of CIC is now equivalent to that of a
secretary, which is obviously a lower rank.
This change is more likely to change
their way of functioning and their eroded independence will eventually result
in them working like bureaucrats under the instructions of the centre. The
primary motive of the RTI Act, 2005 of keeping the post of CIC equivalent to
the post of CEC was to ensure that the right to information of the Indian
citizens remain intact. After, the amendment there will be an impediment in the
process of provision of information, and the information which might be
detrimental for the central government would not be released by the Information
Commissioners owing to the undue pressure of the higher authorities.[34]
The uncertainty relating to the salary and tenure of the Information
Commissioners is more likely to make the government’s functioning opaque.
v PARLIAMENT'S EXCESSIVE DELEGATION OF
COMPETENCES TO THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT
There is need to understand that
regulating the tenure of work and the compensation, allowances and terms of
service of CIC, ICs, CSIC and SIC, who are statutory authorities, is a pivotal
legislative function. If such a function is out rightly outsourced to any other
body of the government (in the case concerned the Executive), then the
Principle of Separation of Power would be defeated and will be detrimental for
a democratic state. Even the Supreme Court of India in the case of A.
N. Parasuraman v. Tamil Nadu[35] held
that excessive delegation by anybody of the government is in gross violation of
the Article 14 of the Indian Constitution.
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Conclusion And Suggestions
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It would not be abrupt to conclude
that RTI Act's independence owing to the new modifications, has been seriously
impeded. It is justifiable to say that RTI Act has been one of the most
empowering and effective actions in the last two decades. It is the result of RTI
Act that we learned of the commonwealth fraud and 2G scam[36].
Until now, the legislation has resulted in honest officers being protected
while dishonest officers have been convicted. Most importantly, it has given
Indian citizens the confidence to speak up and demand answers from their
government. It was this legislation that offered incredibly powerful voice to
the voiceless, and it makes me tense that with the revisions, the RTI Act's
main goal would be entirely disintegrated. In my opinion the Amendment Act is
not constitutionally sound due to various reasons like the amendment dismantles
the federal characteristics of the original Act, the legislature excessively
delegates the authority over Information Commissioners to the Central
Executive, undermines the Independence of ICs and violates the 2014
Pre-Legislative Consultation Policy.
Some Suggestions to improve the
status of the RTI Act:
·
The
court has both the constitutional ability and the obligation to declare such an
amendment unlawful and restore the Information Commissioners' independence.[37]
·
In
addition, rather than hiring just former government employees as Information
Commissioners, governments should try to appoint RTI campaigners, human rights
activists, or academics. So that the institution's effectiveness and diversity
can be preserved.
·
They
should also strengthen the institution of RTI, so that the RTI applicants
should not be harassed or assaulted. This can be done by increasing the number
of ICs and making the procedure less cumbersome.
·
Since
the Information Commissioners plays the role of a regulator and an adjudicator,
to make the process of adjudication less burdensome for the ICs, there can be a
quasi-judicial body for adjudication.
Article Information
RTI: A Modern Tool For Empowerment And Exploitation (By: Arya Vansh Kamrah, Bishrant Khatiwada & Rohan Johnson )
Authors: Arya Vansh Kamrah, Bishrant Khatiwada, Rohan Johnson
- Journal IJLRA
- ISSN 2582-6433
- Published 2022/08/27
- Volume 2
- Issue 7
About Journal
International Journal for Legal Research and Analysis
- Abbreviation IJLRA
- ISSN 2582-6433
- Access Open Access
- License CC 4.0
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