RTI Act 2005# HP RTI Rules 2006

The Right to Information is an act of the Parliament of India which sets out the rules and procedures regarding citizens' right to information. It replaced the former Freedom of Information Act, 2002.
The right to information is a fundamental right under Article 19 (1) of the Indian Constitution. In 1976, in the Raj Narain vs the State of Uttar Pradesh case, the Supreme Court ruled that Right to information will be treated as a fundamental right under article 19. The Supreme Court held that in Indian democracy, people are the masters and they have the right to know about the working of the government.

Thus the government enacted the Right to Information act in 2005 which provides machinery for exercising this fundamental right.
What type of information can be requested through RTI?

The citizens can seek any information from the government authorities that the government can disclose to the parliament.

Some information that can affect the sovereignty and the integrity of India is exempted from the purview of RTI.

Information relating to internal security, relations with foreign countries, intellectual property rights (IPR), cabinet discussions are exempted from RTI.

Objectives of the RTI Act

Empower citizens to question the government.
The act promotes transparency and accountability in the working of the government.
The act also helps in containing corruption in the government and work for the people in a better way.
The act envisages building better-informed citizens who would keep necessary vigil about the functioning of the government machinery.
Important provisions under the Right to Information Act, 2005

Section 2(h): Public authorities mean all authorities and bodies under the union government, state government or local bodies. The civil societies that are substantially funded, directly or indirectly, by the public funds also fall within the ambit of RTI.
Section 4 1(b): Government has to maintain and proactively disclose information.
Section 6: Prescribes a simple procedure for securing information.
Section 7: Prescribes a time frame for providing information(s) by PIOs.
Section 8: Only minimum information exempted from disclosure.
Section 8 (1) mentions exemptions against furnishing information under the RTI Act.
Section 8 (2) provides for disclosure of information exempted under the Official Secrets Act, 1923 if the larger public interest is served.
Section 19: Two-tier mechanism for appeal.
Section 20: Provides penalties in case of failure to provide information on time, incorrect, incomplete or misleading or distorted information.
Section 23: Lower courts are barred from entertaining suits or applications. However, the writ jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of India and high courts under Articles 32 and 226 of the Constitution remains unaffected.
To know in detail about the other fundamental rights of the Indian Constitution, aspirants can refer to the links given below:

Right to Equality Right to Freedom
Right to Life (Article 21) Right against Exploitation
Right to Freedom of Religion Right to Constitutional Remedies (Article 32)
Significance of the RTI Act
The RTI Act, 2005 empowers the citizen to question the secrecy and abuse of power practised in governance.
It is through the information commissions at the central and state levels that access to such information is provided.
RTI information can be regarded as a public good, for it is relevant to the interests of citizens and is a crucial pillar for the functioning of a transparent and vibrant democracy.
The information obtained not only helps in making government accountable but also useful for other purposes which would serve the overall interests of the society.
Every year, around six million applications are filed under the RTI Act, making it the most extensively used sunshine legislation globally.
These applications seek information on a range of issues, from holding the government accountable for the delivery of basic rights and entitlements to questioning the highest offices of the country.
Using the RTI Act, people have sought information that governments would not like to reveal as it may expose corruption, human rights violations, and wrongdoings by the state.
The access to information about policies, decisions and actions of the government that affect the lives of citizens is an instrument to ensure accountability.
The Supreme Court has, in several judgments, held that the RTI is a fundamental right flowing from Articles 19 and 21 of the Constitution, which guarantee to citizens the freedom of speech and expression and the right to life, respectively.
#sanjay sankhyan
#rti_act_2005 by sankhyan
#Suchna ka adhikar
#सूचना का अधिकार 2005
hp rti rule 2006
keep watching Hpnotifications by sankhyan
Jai hind