RTI,

2005

The Right to Information Act (RTI) is an Act of the Parliament of India "to provide for setting out
the practical regime of right to information for citizens" and replaces the erstwhile Freedom of
information Act, 2002.
The Act applies to all States and Union Territories of India except Jammu & Kashmir.
Right To Information is derived from our fundamental right of freedom of speech and
expression under Article 19 of the Constitution.
Under the provisions of the Act, any citizen may request information from a "public authority"
(a body of Government or "instrumentality of State") which is required to reply expeditiously or
within thirty days.
The Act also requires every public authority to computerise their records for wide dissemination
and to proactively certain categories of information so that the citizens need minimum recourse
to request for information formally.
This law was passed by Parliament on 15 June 2005 and came fully into force on 12 October
2005.
The first application was given to a Pune police station.
Information disclosure in India was restricted by the Official Secrets Act 1923 and various other
special laws, which the new RTI Act relaxes.
It codifies a fundamental right of citizens.

Scope

The Act covers the whole of India except Jammu and Kashmir, where J&K Right to Information
Act is in force.
It cover all constitutional authorities, including the executive, legislature and judiciary; any
institution or body established or constituted by an act of Parliament or a state legislature. It
is also defined in the Act that bodies or authorities established or constituted by order or
notification of appropriate government including bodies "owned, controlled or substantially
financed" by government, or non-Government organizations "substantially financed, directly
or indirectly by funds" provided by the government are also covered in the Act.

Private bodies

Private bodies are not within the Act's ambit directly. In a decision of Sarbajit Roy versus Delhi
Electricity Regulatory Commission, the Central Information Commission also reaffirmed that
privatised public utility companies continue to be within the RTI Act- their privatisation not
withstanding.

Political parties

The Central Information Commission (CIC), consisting of Satyanand Mishra, M.L. Sharma and
Annapurna Dixit, has held that the political parties are public authorities and are answerable
to citizens under the RTI Act.
The CIC, a quasi-judicial body, has said that six national parties - Congress, BJP, NCP, CPI(M), CPI
and BSP and BJD - have been substantially funded indirectly by the Central Government and
have the character of public authorities under the RTI Act as they perform public functions.
In August 2013 the government introduced a Right To Information (Amendment) Bill which
would remove poiltical parties from the scope of the law.
In September 2013 the Bill was deferred to the Winter Session of Parliament.
In December 2013 the Standing Committee on Law and Personnel said in its report tabled in
Parliament.

CIC

The Central Information Commission (CIC) set up under the Right to Information Act is the
authorised body, established in 2005, under the Government of India to act upon complaints
from those individuals who have not been able to submit information requests to a Central Public
Information Officer or State Public Information Officer due to either the officer not having been
appointed, or because the respective Central Assistant Public Information Officer or State
Assistant Public Information Officer refused to receive the application for information under the
RTI Act. The President of India, Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the 8th Annual Convention of
Central Information Commission (CIC) on 2 September 2013.
Current Chief Information Commissioners
Shri Rajiv Mathur retired on 23 August 2014 on attaining 65 years of age. Since then the
Government of India led by Narendra Modi is yet to make an appointment for the post of Chief
Information Commissioner.
1.

How is Central Information Commission constituted?

1. Central Information Commission to be constituted by the Central Government
through a Gazette Notification.
2. Commission includes 1 Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) and not more
than 10 Information Commissioners (IC) who will be appointed by the
President of India.
3. Oath of Office will be administered by the President of India according to the
form set out in the First Schedule.
4. Commission shall have its Headquarters in Delhi. Other offices may be
established in other parts of the country with the approval of the Central
Government.
5. Commission will exercise its powers without being subjected to directions by
any other authority. (S.12)

2.

What is the eligibility criteria and what is the process of appointment of CIC/IC?
1. Candidates for CIC/IC must be persons of eminence in public life with wide
knowledge and experience in law, science and technology, social service,
management, journalism, mass media or administration and governance.
2. CIC/IC shall not be a Member of Parliament or Member of the Legislature of
any State or Union Territory. He shall not hold any other office of profit or
connected with any political party or carrying on any business or pursuing any
profession. (S.12)
3. Appointment Committee includes Prime Minister (Chair), Leader of the
Opposition in the Lok Sabha and one Union Cabinet Minister to be
nominated by the Prime Minister.

3.

What is the term of office and other service conditions of CIC?

1. CIC shall be appointed for a term of 5 years from date on which he enters
upon his office or till he attains the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier.
2. CIC is not eligible for reappointment.
3. Salary will be the same as that of the Chief Election Commissioner. This will not
be varied to the disadvantage of the CIC during service. (S.13)

4.

What is the term of office and other service conditions of IC?

1. IC shall hold office for a term of five years from the date on which he enters
upon his office or till he attains the age of sixty-five years, whichever is earlier
and shall not be eligible for reappointment as IC.
2. Salary will be the same as that of the Election Commissioner. This will not be
varied to the disadvantage of the IC during service.
3. IC is eligible for appointment as CIC but will not hold office for more than a
total of five years including his/her term as IC. (S.13)

5.

How is the State Information Commission constituted?

1. The State Information Commission will be constituted by the State
Government through a Gazette notification. It will have one State Chief
Information Commissioner (SCIC) and not more than 10 State Information
Commissioners (SIC) to be appointed by the Governor.
2. Oath of office will be administered by the Governor according to the form set
out in the First Schedule.
3. The headquarters of the State Information Commission shall be at such place
as the State Government may specify. Other offices may be established in
other parts of the State with the approval of the State Government.
4. The Commission will exercise its powers without being subjected to any other
authority.

6.

What is the eligibility criterion and what is the process of appointment of State Chief
Information Commissioner/State Information Commissioners?

The Appointments Committee will be headed by the Chief Minister. Other members
include the Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly and one Cabinet
Minister nominated by the Chief Minister.
The qualifications for appointment as SCIC/SIC shall be the same as that for Central
Commissioners.
The salary of the State Chief Information Commissioner will be the same as that of an
Election Commissioner. The salary of the State Information Commissioner will be the
same as that of the Chief Secretary of the State Government. (S.15)