RTI REJECTIONS

RTI REJECTIONS

Subject : Governance

Context : The Centre has only rejected 4.3% of all Right to Information (RTI) requests in 2019-20, the lowest ever rate, according to the Central Information Commission’s annual report.

Concept :

• However, almost 40% of these rejections did not include any valid reason, as they did not invoke one of the permissible exemption clauses in the RTI Act, according to an analysis of report data by RTI activist VenkateshNayak.
• This includes 90% of rejections by the Prime Minister’s Office.
• The RTI Act allows public authorities to reject RTI requests on a number of grounds, ranging from information which would endanger life and safety to that which involves irrelevant personal information, Cabinet papers, foreign governments, copyrights, or sovereignty, security and intelligence matters.
• Public authorities are expected to cite the relevant clause of the Act to invoke the exemption.

Right to Information Act

• RTI is an act of the parliament which sets out the rules and procedures regarding citizens’ right to information.
• Under the provisions of RTI Act, any citizen of India may request information from a “public authority” (a body of Government or “instrumentality of State”) which is required to reply expeditiously or within 30.
• In case of the matter involving a petitioner’s life and liberty, the information has to be provided within 48 hours.
• The Act also requires every public authority to computerize their records for wide dissemination and to proactively publish certain categories of information so that the citizens need minimum recourse to request for information formally.

Governing of RTI

• The Right to information in India is governed by two major bodies:
• Central Information Commission (CIC) – Chief Information commissioner who heads all the central departments and ministries- with their own public information officers (PIO)s. CICs are directly under the President of India.
• State Information Commissions (SIC)–State Public Information Officers or SPIOs head over all the state department and ministries. The SPIO office is directly under the corresponding State Governor.
• State and CIC are independent bodies and CIC has no jurisdiction over the SIC.

Fundamental status of RTI

• RTI is a fundamental right for every citizen of India. Since RTI, is implicit in the Right to Freedom of Speech and Expression under Article 19 of the Indian Constitution, it is an implied fundamental right.

Important Sections:

• 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.
• Section 4 of the RTI Act requires suomotu disclosure of information by each public authority. However, such disclosures have remained less than satisfactory.
• Section 8 (1) mentions exemptions against furnishing information under RTI Act.
• Section 8 (2) provides for disclosure of information exempted under Official Secrets Act, 1923 if larger public interest is served.