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Public participation in the democratic and governmental process is at its meaningful best when citizens have adequate access to official information. This access lays the foundation for good governance, transparency, accountability and participation.
The fundamental right of freedom of speech and expression is meaningless without the requisite information about issues and subjects on which opinions are to be formed and expressed. The right to information, is, therefore, implicit in the right to free speech and is as much fundamental. Parliament has now enabled the citizens to exercise their fundamental right of free speech and right to information.
Therefore, there are reasons to cheer the passage of the much awaited Right to Information Bill – 2005, a landmark in the history of Indian democracy. The Bill goes a long way in putting together a comprehensive mechanism for citizens to secure information under the Government’s control and thereby promotes “transparency and accountability in the working of every public authority”. The legislation is in accord with both Article 19 of the Indian Constitution as well as Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Bill is an important step in fulfilling the promises made to the people of the country by the UPA Government under the Common Minimum Programme.
Background
With the passage of the Bill by the Rajya Sabha on May 12, 2005 India is now among the 55 countries which have legislated comprehensive laws that protect the citizens’ right to information. Nine States namely, Delhi, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Jammu and Kashmir, Assam, Goa and Madhya Pradesh already have laws on the right to information to show their commitment for building a dynamic and prosperous society by involving the people in governance and decision making process. The Supreme Court of India has, from time to time, interpreted Article 19 which upholds the right to freedom of speech and expression, to implicitly include the right to receive and impart information. There had been relentless efforts and mass mobilization in favour of a comprehensive Central Act providing access to information regimes.
The UPA Government’s Common Minimum Programme (CMP) made ‘a solemn pledge to the people of our country to provide a government that is corruption – free, transparent and accountable at all times, to provide an administration that is responsible at all times and to make the Right to Information Act “more progressive, participatory and meaningful”. The UPA also set up the National Advisory Council (NAC) to monitor the CMP. This issue was taken up in the NAC’s first two meetings and amendments to the Act, based primarily on the Karnataka and Maharashtra Acts, was sent to the Prime Minister by the Chairperson, Smt. Sonia Gandhi stating “The main object of the proposed amendments is to ensure maximum disclosure and minimum exemptions consistent with constitutional provisions; independent appeal mechanisms; penalties for failure to provide information as per the law; effective mechanisms for access to information, and disclosure by authorities.
Provisions
The new legislation is a radical improvement on the relatively weak and ineffective statute it seeks to replace, the Freedom of Information Act, 2002. The new legislation unequivocally confers on all citizens the right to access information and, correspondingly, makes the dissemination of such information an obligation for all public authorities.
An outstanding feature of the Bill is the provision for Information Commissions – independent high level bodies at both the Central and State levels that are dedicated to encouraging the citizen’s a right to know and enforcing the provisions of the Act. By empowering these Commissions to act as appellate authorities and by vesting them with the powers of a civil court, these bodies have been given the teeth to discourage public authorities from refusing to part with information.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has described the Right to Information (RTI) Bill as a means to fight corruption and inefficiency in the government at various levels. It brings within its ambit Central and State administrations, panchayats, local bodies and even non-governmental organizations getting public funds. This is a password for the citizen for unprecedented access to information including inspection of documents and extraction of data and marks a major milestone for Indian democracy.
The provisions of the Bill require authorities to respond to queries in as little as 48 hours, if it is a matter of life and liberty. This will undoubtedly prompt accountability and transparency to climb up several notches, especially as the Act promises hefty fines and disciplinary action against erring officials.
Some of the provisions of the bill shall come into force as soon as it is enacted, while its remaining provisions shall become effective on the 120th day of its enactment. It shall, therefore, be incumbent on the public authorities to develop the necessary infrastructure for providing the information to the citizens within this period. The non-governmental organizations substantially financed, directly or indirectly, by the public funds are also being brought under the ambit of this Bill.
To ensure that the information sought is provided quickly, the Bill makes it obligatory for the Public Information Officer to provide the information requested for as permissible under the Bill, not later than 30 days. To ensure that the Government officials and all public authorities provide high priority to requests for information from citizens, deterrent penalties have been prescribed for failure to provide information in time or, for refusing to accept application for information or, for giving incorrect, incomplete or misleading information or destroying information and so on.
The Bill exempts security and intelligence organizations from the Bill’s purview. Another remarkable feature is that the provisions of this Bill shall have overriding effect in the event of any conflict between the provisions of this Bill and the Official Secrets Act, 1923, or any other law for the time being in force. The passage of the Bill would create opportunities for the people of India to participate meaningfully in the democratic governance.
Analysis
The effectiveness of the Right to Information Act will depend substantially on how prepared the Central and State Governments are in implementing it – in both letter and spirit. The very fact that it will be in the statute books will send out an important message to all public authorities. The disclosure of information is no longer a transgression but an obligation. Conversely, its withholding is no longer a virtue, but an offence.
Benefit
Modern democracy embraces a wider and more direct concept of accountability. The trend is towards accountability in terms of standards of performance and service delivery, of public agencies to the citizens they are required to serve. Such accountability is possible only when the public have access to information relating to the functioning of these agencies. Finally, transparency and openness in functioning have a cleansing effect on the operations of these agencies. As such, it has been aptly said sunlight is the best disinfectant.
*Journalist
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