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AN APPRAISAL OF ROLE OF MEDIA IN EMERGINIG AND UPHELDING RIGHT TO INFORMATION IN INDIA
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AN APPRAISAL OF ROLE OF MEDIA IN EMERGINIG AND UPHELDING RIGHT TO INFORMATION IN INDIA
AUTHORED BY - SHUBHANGI JADHAV GAIKWAD
ABSTRACT
The Right to Information is simply known as RTI, is a fundamental right of every citizen of India to seek information from
government offices, departments and ministries and all the organizations run by the Govt. of India, or any other
organization substantially aided by the, Government of India or any other state Government. The renowned French philosopher Michel Foucault once opined, power is derived
from knowledge and information
is the basic component of knowledge. Information makes men wise and it is competent enough to cope up with the
modern world. So, it the duty of each and every citizen to have knowledge of day to day happening. This paper
tries to feature how media plays an important
role in promoting RTI.
INTRODUCTION
The
Right to information Act, 2005, which became fully effective from 12thOctober,
2005, is one of the most
noteworthy legislations enacted by
the Parliament of India.
The Right to Information Act 2005 has been
probably the most discussed law of the recent
times and also has given much more power to the people than any other law. Its basic aim is "to provide for setting out the
practical regime of right to information for citizens to secure access to information under the control of public
authorities, in order to promote transparency and accountability in the working of every public authority"[1]
The Act enables the establishment of an unprecedented regime of right to
information for the citizens of the
country. It overrides the “Official Secrets Act” and similar laws/rules. It strikes at the heart of the paradigm
long practiced by the Government
officials and public functionaries, “confidentiality is
the rule and disclosure is an exception”.[2]
The Act seeks to establish that
“transparency is the norm and secrecy is an exception” in the working of every public authority. It aims to ensure maximum
openness and transparency in the machinery and functioning of the
Government at all levels- Central, State and Local. The media is regarded as the fourth estate of a democracy. They have
the ability to get more reliable
sources of information from the government agencies and create a sense of
social awareness among the people
about participatory governance and development. The media are required to play a crucial role in
sensitising various stakeholders of good governance about the utility and relevance of new legislation.
The
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 19) states, “Everyone has the
right to freedom of opinion and
expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and
impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers. The media have an essential
role in the development of the Information Society and are recognised as an important
contributor to freedom
of expression and plurality of information”.[3]
In fact, mass media is the most important vehicle
for information, knowledge
and communication in a
democratic polity. They are pervasive and play a significant role in shaping
societies, and they provide the public sphere of information and debate that enables social and cultural discourse, participation and accountability.
They are the most accessible, cost-effective and widespread source of
information and platform for expression. Information is power. The media can play a crucial role in building an inclusive Information Society based
on knowledge power and its
distribution.
The
Unit aims to analyse the role and importance of media in governance through the
RTI. This Unit also recognises the
contribution of media in enacting the Right to Information Act, 2005. It reflects how right to information law helps the media to uncover the “Maladies
and Flaws” prevalent in various organs of the Government, and role played by media to bring sensitiveness on various
issues among the masses having ramifications on their social life. It deliberates how the RTI Act helps in
getting access to court proceedings and
parliamentary processes and how different Government institutions can be
approached for relevant information.
Further, this Unit also analyses the role of media in highlighting the issues of public importance through
the RTI. It brings out its constraints and challenges in accessing justice for the people. At the end, it suggests
that with concrete efforts and restraint attitude media can help in bringing the RTI
regime in true sense.
NEED OF RIGHT TO INFORMATION IN DEMOCRACY
Let
us first understand the meaning of Media and what is comprehended by freedom of media.
The term media covers both, print and electronic media,
including the internet.
Even motion pictures are also to be included. So far as media freedom is
concerned, it includes editorial
freedom, freedom of circulation, the freedom to decide volume of the magazine
or newspaper and freedom of means
necessary for the exercise of right.
Freedom of expression has four broad social purposes
to serve-
(i)
it helps an individual
to attain self-fulfillment.
(ii)
it assists in the discovery of truth,
(iii)
it strengthens the capacity of an individual for
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. “All members of a civilised society should
be able to form their own beliefs and
communicate them freely to others. In a democracy the fundamental principle involved
is the people’s right to know. Freedom
of speech and expression should, therefore,
receive a generous support from all those who believe in the participation of people in the administration” [4]
Right to Information is a fundamental human right, crucial to human
development, and a prerequisite for
the realisation of other human rights: civil and political rights such as the right to life and liberty, freedom of
expression and equality before the law; and economic, social and cultural rights such as right to adequate food, right
to water, right to highest attainable standard of health and right to education.
Justice
Sawant, speaking in a workshop, remarked, “The Right to Information should not be seen as an additional subject, but as a means of availing
fundamental rights. Fundamental rightslike Article 19(freedom
of speech and expression) are declaratory in
nature and do not provide any means for their enforcement or
implementation. Those who have the means have availed of these rights
so far, in the absence of enabling laws” [5]
We all are very much aware of the importance of institutions in social
life of any nation. These institutions help people to come together
and work for the common goal and common good. The two most vital organs of any institution are transparency and accountability.
The Right to Information Act, 2005 mandates establishment of the Central and State Information Commissions both at Central and State Government level respectively.
These are formal institutions,
which ensure transparency and accountability
of the government officials; and people
can exercise their right to information through these institutions. On the other hand, Media - the fourth pillar
of democracy is an informal institution,
which plays the role of a “monitor” amongst different organs of the state and society. Evaluation of the public
authorities and governance is impossible without factual, current/updated and primary information. The public authorities always guard each information, with the weapon
of Official Secrets
Act and with constraints given
in the Constitution.
Therefore, the rights of the citizens remain confined. Similarly, the judiciary has the Contempt
of Court provisions and the legislature have the parliamentary privileges.
The major characteristics of good governance are- participation, rule of
law, transparency, responsiveness,
equity and inclusiveness, effectiveness, efficiency, accountability, strategic vision
and consensus-orientation. In order to ensure transparency in the system,
government resolutions must be arrived at openly in accordance with
rules and regulations. The
Government must also ensure that all information should be made available to
people as per section 4(1) of the
Right to Information Act, 2005. Besides, it is the responsibility of “the appropriate Government to compile, in its official
language, a guide containing information, in easily comprehensible form
and manner, as may reasonably be required by
a person who wishes to exercise any right specified under the Act
(Section 26(2))”. This guide should
also be made available to all the stakeholders and the media. It is pertinent
to point out that transparency ensures accountability by the public institutions and its functionaries.
There is a direct relationship between right to information, media and
good governance. With the help of
right to information, media can expose corruption, unfair and restricted trade practices, embezzlement, organised crime, deplorable conditions of inmates
of prisons, shelter homes,
mental asylums, cases of custodial violence, infringement of legal rights
of vulnerable sections
of society, etc. With investigative journalism, media can assure
good governance by putting an end to corrupt government practices and
establishing a responsive State. The essentials of good governance - maintenance of rule of law, freedom of expression, forming
association, people’s participation in administration can be realised if the right to information
is implemented in the right spirit.
The
system of Government is very opaque. It is impossible for the journalists to go
into the depth of any matter
properly under the possession of Government and its instrumentalities. But now, with the enactment of Right to
Information, it has become a tremendous weapon
for the common people and the media as well. In order to ensure
transparency, a balance has been struck between
the needs of the administration and rights of the media by
allowing them access to court proceedings, live telecast of Parliamentary
proceedings, visit to prison
inmates, orphanages, mental asylums and shelter homes for women destitute. Normally, “these institutions cannot be
visited in the same manner and with same ease as one may visit an open exhibition” [6].
But, media can enter these institutions and report the findings to the
public at large.
STRUGGLE
FOR RIGHT TO INFORMATION IN INDIA AND ROLE OF MEDIA AND JUDICIARY
Media
is defined as the fourth estate and it makes any idea or plan global by its
propaganda feature. When an individual
or NGO seeks any information and gets it, it is confined only to
the seeker of information. But if media gets any information through the RTI or
makes any disclosure, it plays a
vital role by spreading awareness about that information or event. It is the media which popularises and
tells us everything happing across the country or in the world. Democratic participation presupposes enough knowledge
of the facts relating to the working
of government and its instrumentalities.
In the leading case of SP Gupta v. Union of India (AIR 1982 SC 149), Justice P.N.Bhagwati stated, “the citizens’ right
to know the true facts about the administration of the country is one of the pillars
of democracy. The right to information has been recognised by the Supreme Court as
fundamental right implicit in Art. 19(1) of the Indian Constitution which includes freedom of press also. He further
remarked that where a society has
chosen to accept democracy as its creedal faith, it is elementary that the
citizens ought to know what their government is doing”
The “role of media is very significant in achieving the free, fair and
real democracy as it puts an
additional check on the three official branches – the executive, the legislature
and the judiciary”[7]
(New York Times Co. v. United States).Media provides a forum for free political
discussions for the proper functioning of the processes
of a popular government and
helps in building a strong viable society. Media also influences public opinion
and strengthens principles of democracy. The media has now assumed
the role of public educator making formal and non-formal
education possible in a large scale particularly in a developing country like India.
In Hamdard Dawakhana
v. Union of India[8], the Supreme Court maintained that the freedom of speech involves the right to
impart and acquire information. In Sakal News
Papers[9], the
Supreme Court admitted that restriction on circulation of newspapers amounts to denial of right to information. It was
held, “the right to impart and receive information from the electronic
media is a part to right to
freedom of speech and expression.”
In
the case of State of UP v. Raj Narain[10],
the Supreme Court stated, “The people of this
country have a right to know every public act, everything that is done
in a public way by their public functionaries. They are entitled
to know the particulars of every public transaction in all
its bearings”.
Media was always aware about the right to information, as in Bennet
Coleman & Co Vs Union of India[11],
a leading newspapers publisher challenged the Government’s policy of restricting the availability of news prints.
In its decision favouring
the petitioner, the Supreme
Court declared, “freedom of speech includes within its compass the right of all citizens to read and be informed and also
held that the right to information is included
within the right to freedom and speech of expression guaranteed by
Article 19(1) (a) of the Constitution”.
A dissenting opinion in the same case noted, "the fundamental principal involved
here is the people's right to know”.
In Printers (Mysore) Ltd. v. Assistant CTO ((1994) 2 SCC 434), the
Supreme Court held, “...the freedom of press has always been a cherished right in all democratic countries”. The Court further observed, “freedom of the press is not so much
for the benefit of the press as for
the benefit of the general community because the community has a right to be
supplied with information”.
In another landmark case of Secretary, Ministry of I & B, Government
of India v. Cricket Association of
Bengal (1995) the Supreme Court held,
“The freedom of speech and expression
includes right to acquire information and disseminate it. Freedom of speech and expression is important for self- expression and it enables
people to contribute to debates on social and moral issues. It is the
only vehicle of political discourse so essential to democracy. The right to communicate, therefore, includes the right to communicate through any media that is available
whether print or electronic or audiovisual such as advertisement, article, speech, etc. This is why freedom of
speech and expression also includes
freedom of press. The freedom of press includes right to circulate and also to determine the volume of such circulation.
It also includes the freedom to communicate or
circulate one’s opinion without interference to as large a population in
country as well as abroad, as possible to reach”.
In the case of Election Commission of India v MR Vijaya Bhaskar (LL 2021
SC 244)[12] the Supreme Court held, “the media coverage of
court hearings was part of freedom of press,
had a bearing on citizens'
right to information and also on the accountability of the judiciary”. The Court emphasised,
“Freedom of speech and expression extends to reporting proceedings in
judicial institutions as well”.
ROLE OF PRESS
COUNCIL OF INDIA IN FRAMING
THE
RTI LAW
The
media also realised the significance of right to information from the point of
view of good governance and judicious
development in India. Eminent journalists namely, Nikhil Chakravarthy, Kuldip Nayyar,
Ajit Bhattacharjee and Prabhash Joshi visited Beawar
to join the RTI campaign of
Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS). They also facilitated national
coverage and enabled
the activists of right to information movement
to place the demand in a wider perspective. As a
part of its mandate to create awareness about media related issues, the Press Council
of India (PCI) has been organising seminars
and workshops in different
parts of the country. Special reference can be made to the seminars on “Press as a leader of the Society”,
held on March 23-24, 1996, workshop on “Right to Information” on August 10-11, 1996. The Council celebrated
“National Press Day” to commemorate
30th anniversary of the Press Council by organising two-day seminar on November 16-17, 1997 in New Delhi on “50
Years of Press in India” and “Right to Information”.
The
first major draft legislation on RTI was circulated by the Press Council of
India in 1996. This bill was ardently
endorsed by the RTI activists and other participants from political
parties. The preamble
to this draft acknowledged the fact that the right to information is already ensured under the
Constitution of India as part of the fundamental right to free speech and expression. Besides,
several Supreme Court judgments also support
this. The draft Bill provided for the right of every citizen to information
from any public authority.
Significantly, the term “public authority” included not only the state, as defined in Article 12 of the Constitution,
but also all privately owned undertakings, non- statutory authorities, companies and other non-state
bodies whose activities affect the public interest. Thus, both the
commercial sector and non-governmental organisations were included in the ambit of this RTI draft.
Certain restrictions were also meant to be imposed on the right to information, as on fundamental rights in the
Constitution. An important insertion
was, “information which cannot be denied to Parliament or the State Legislature shall not be denied to a citizen”. In the
draft, provisions were also included for imposing personal fines on the public
officials for failure
to supply information. Appeal could also be filed in
the civil court against failure or refusal to give requisite information.[13]
The
Press Council of India along with other three collaborators viz., Press Role Of
Media Institute of India, The
National Campaign of Peoples Right to Information and Forum for Right to Information organised a seminar
on the “Right to Information” on 20thFebruary2000 to press the Government to ensure that the Bill on the said subject
be introduced soon without any loopholes in the same. In this regard, a
resolution containing proposed
amendments to the Bill on the said subject was sent to the Central Government for consideration[14]
In its advisory role, the Council’s opinion
has been regularly
sought by various
instrumentalities of the State on legislative measures either in force
or proposed to be introduced.
Comments were also sent to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Constitution Review Consultative Committee
for insertion of Freedom of Press and Freedom of Information as express Rights in Chapter III of the Constitution.
The
Press Council on March 2001, had stated that the Right to Information
legislation is very vital for the
media. It stated, “At present, one of the stumbling blocks in the path of investigative, analytical and popular
journalism is the difficulty in getting access to the official information. The bureaucracy, the police, the army, judiciary
and even the legislature
guard information regarding even the most mundane subjects with astonishing zeal. Few journalists are able to break
this iron curtain of the official noncooperation. The right to Information will encourage journalists and society at large to make more questioning
about the state of affairs and will be a powerful tool to check the unmitigated goings-on in the public realm and will
also promote accountability. No longer will scribes have to depend on conjecture, rumour, leaks and sources other than knowledgeable sources. The legislation, when enacted, will pose an antidote to the vested
interest which try to conceal or misinterpret
information or which try to manipulate media directly or indirectly to plant misinformation. Through
this legislation, transparency in public, professional, social and personal sphere can be achieved”[15]
CONCLUSION
The
above discussion on the role of media both in accessing information and helping
in the delivery of information for
fulfilling the social needs, reiterates the fact that , whether
print, electronic or mass media, is the most significant means of
information in a populist government.
The Media has universal approach and important
role in establishing an accountable and responsive government and equitable society.
Sincere execution of development
projects, environment protection and safeguarding of interests of deprived sections
of society is possible only with the availability of information. The social dimension of right to information has been
perceived by the judiciary by recognizing that
freedom of press is at the core of social and political discourse and a
key role player in the process of social transformation. In present times, media being “the accessible, cost- effective and
widespread source of information and platform for expression ”can perform a vital role in building an informed
society. But the fact is that media has not utilised much the Right to Information Act for eliciting
information from the public authorities. It can play a productive role in the governance by utilising the core
provisions of the Act. The media is
an important link between the citizens and government. Freedom of media is a facet of the people’s right to
information. It empowers the citizens by articulating the needs and aspirations of the people. As a
community watchdog, the media should perform its role in furtherance of
public interest.
[1] Right to Information Act, 2005 Bare Act
[2] Contributed
by Prof. (Dr) Preeti Misra, Head, Department. of Human Rights, School of Legal
Studies, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.
[3] https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights#:~: text=Article %2019, media%
20and% 20regardless%20of%20frontiers.
[4] Indian Express Newspaper vs.
Union of India & Ors. Etc. on 06th December, 1984-https: //
indiankanoon . org/doc/223504/
[5] CHRI & YASHADA. (2005).
Report of the Workshop
on the Right to Information and the Media Past Experiences and Future Possibilities. Retrieved from http://www.humanrightsinitiative.org/old/programs/ai/rti/india/workshops/wk sp_rep_on_rtiact05_pune.pdf
[6] Rai, U.R.(2011). Fundamental Rights
and their Enforcement . New Delhi, India : PHI Learning
Private Ltd.
[7] New York Times Co. v.United
States, 403 Us 713 (1971)known as Pentagon Paper Case;New York Times Co. v. Sullivon, 376 US 255 (1964).
Retrived fro https://supreme .justia.com/cases/federal/us/403/713
[11] (1972) 2 scc 788, Retrieved from https://indiankanoon.org/doc/125596
[12] LL 2021 SC 244. Retrieved
from https://www.livelaw.in/pdf_upload/eci-vmr-Vijayabhaskar-media-gag-madras- hc-oral-remarks-392978.pdf
[13] Sudhir, N.(2013).
The Right to Information in India. New Delhi, India
:Oxford Press
[14] Press Council of India.(2009).
RESUME’- Press Council of India. Retrieved from https://presscouncil.nic.in/Old Website/NEW%20RESUME_11_12_09.htm
[15] Press Council of India.(2009).
RESUME’- Press Council of India. Retrieved from https://presscouncil.nic.in/Old Website/NEW%20RESUME_11_12_09.htm
Article Information
AN APPRAISAL OF ROLE OF MEDIA IN EMERGINIG AND UPHELDING RIGHT TO INFORMATION IN INDIA
Authors: SHUBHANGI JADHAV GAIKWAD
- Journal IJLRA
- ISSN 2582-6433
- Published 2023/06/14
- Issue 7
About Journal
International Journal for Legal Research and Analysis
- Abbreviation IJLRA
- ISSN 2582-6433
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