Right to Information

Right to information is implicitly guaranteed by the constitution. Indian

Parliament enacted the right to Information Act 2005 and this gave a
powerful tool to the citizens to get information from the government as the
matter of right. The free flow of information is must for a democratic society
in particular as it helps the society to flourish.
Constitutional aspect of Right to Information.
Article 19(1)(a) of the constitution guarantees the fundamental rights to free
speech and expression. The pre-requisites for enjoying the right is knowledge
and information. The absence of authentic information on matters of public
interest will only encourage rumors and speculations. Therefore, Right to
Information becomes a constitutional right being an aspect of right to free
speech and expression which the right to collect and receive information.
This will also help citizens to perform their fundamental duties set out in
Article 51A of the constitution. A fully informed citizen will certainly be better
equipped for the performance of these duties and to keep necessary vigil on
the instruments of governance and make government more accountable.
As no right can be absolute, Right to Information has its own limitations. The
usual exemption permitting Government to withhold access to information is
generally in respect of these duties.
1.
2.
3.
4.

International relations and national security

Law enforcement and prevention of crime
Internal deliberations of the government
Information obtained in confidence from source outside the
government
5. Information about scientific discoveries and improvement especially in
field of weapons.
Right to information Act,2005
In order to ensure greater and more effective access to information, it was
decided to repeal the freedom of information,2002 and enact another law for
providing an effective framework. To achieve this object, Right to information
Bill was introduced in Parliament and was pass in Lok Sabha on 11 th May
2005 and by Rajya Sabha on 12th May 2005. It received the assent on 15th
June 2005. It came on the statute book as The Right to Information Act
2005.

The right to information Act 2005 provides effective access to

information for citizens of India which is under control of public
authorities.

Basic objectives
1. To empower the citizens
2. To promote transparency and accountability in the working of the
Government.
3. Make Indian democracy work for people in real sense.

A citizen has a right to seek information from public authority which is held
by public authority or which is held under its control. The right includes
inspection of work, documents and records, taking notes, extracts or certified
copies of documents or records held by the public authority or held under the
control of public authority. The Public Information Officer (PIO) should not
create information or interpret information. Information which already exists
can only be supplied.

Free of seeking information

A person seeking information is required to send, along with the application,

demand draft or a bankers cheque or an Indian Postal Order of Rs 10/payable to the accounts officer of the public authority. The payment can be
made also in cash to the accounts officer against proper receipt. Under
Regulation of Fee and Cost Rules,2005 , the applicant may be also required
to pay further fee towards the cost of providing information, details of which
shall be intimated to the applicant by the PIO. Rates of the fees as prescribed
in the rules are :(a) rupees two (Rs. 2/-) for each page ( in A-4 or A-3 size paper) created or
copied;
(b) actual charge or cost price of a copy in larger size paper;
(c) actual cost or price for samples or models;
(d) for information provided in diskette or floppy, rupees fifty (Rs. 50/-) per
diskette or floppy
(e) for information provided in printed form, at the price fixed for such
publication or rupees two per page of photocopy for extracts from the
publication.
As already pointed out, a citizen has a right to inspect the records of a public
authority. For inspection of records, the public authority shall charge no fee
for the first hour. But a fee of rupees five (Rs. 5/-) for each subsequent hour
(or fraction thereof) shall be charged.

If the applicant belongs to below poverty line (BPL) category, he is not

required to pay any fee. However, he should submit a proof in support of his
claim to belong to the below poverty line.
Part I

There is no prescribed format of application for seeking information.

The application can be made on plain paper. The application should,
however, have the name and complete postal address of the applicant.

Information to an applicant shall be supplied within 30 days from the

receipt of application by the public authority. If information sought
concerns the life or liberty of a person, it shall be supplied within 48
hours. In case the application is sent through the Assistant Public
Information Officer or it is sent to a wrong public authority, five days
shall be added to the period of thirty days or 48 hours, as the case
may be.
Right to Shelter
Right to Shelter is a part of Right to Life under Article 21 of the
Constitution. Shelter is a suitable accommodation which would allow a
human being to grow in every aspect physically, mentally,
intellectually and spiritually. Right to shelter therefore includes
adequate living space, safe and decent structure ,clean and decent
surroundings, sufficient lights, pure air and water, electricity, sanitation
and other civic amenities like roads etc so as to have easy access to
his daily avocation. For this provision the government has launched:Indira Awas Yojna, Rajiv Awas Yojna, Samagra Awas Yojna, Integrated
Housing and Slum Development Programme etc.
Right to Work
The Indian Constitution refers to the right to work under the Directive
Principles of State Policy. Article 39 urges the state to ensure that the
citizens, men and women equally have the right to an adequate means
to livelihood and there is equal pay for equal work for both men and
women. Further, Article 41 stresses that the state shall within the
limits of its economic capacity and development, make effective
provisions for securing right to work. The Right to Work states that
everyone should be given opportunity to work for a basic living wage.
Article 38 and 43 of the constitution insiste that the state should
endeavor to find out sufficient work for the people so that they may
put their capacity to work into economic use and earn a fairly good
lining.