CONSTITUTIONAL BASIS OF RTI

Right to Information is one Act that intends to set up an arrangement

for the masses where they can secure access to information under the
control of public authorities. Under the provisions of the Act, any citizen
may appeal information from a government authority which is
mandatory to be replied expeditiously or within thirty days. One can
obtain information merely by logging into RTI portal or filing an
application to the related department.
The Indian Constitution has an array of basic and inalienable rights
termed as Fundamental rights contained in Chapter III. These include
the right to equal protection of the laws and the right to equality before
the law, the right to freedom of speech and expression and the right to
life and personal liberty. These are backed by the right to Constitutional
Remedies under Article 32. The legal position with regard to the right to
information has developed through several Supreme Court decisions
given in the context of fundamental rights.
ARTICLE 19(1)(a): This provision guarantees the fundamental right to
free speech and expression, which includes within it the right to access
information. The pre-requisite for enjoying this right is knowledge and
information. Thus the right to information becomes a constitutional
right as the right to free speech also guarantees right to receive and
collect and information. Article 19(2) permits the State to make such
laws as to impose reasonable restrictions on the exercise of the
freedoms guaranteed under this provision on grounds such as security
of the state, sovereignty and integrity of India and other grounds as
enumerated in the provision.
➢ In People’s Union for Civil Liberties v. UOI (2003) the Supreme
Court deal with the aspect of right to information elaborately. It
held that the right of the citizen to obtain information on matters
relating to public acts flows from the Fundamental Right
enshrined in Article 19(1)(a).

➢ In State of UP v. Raj Narain (1975), the Supreme Court has held

that Article 19(1)(a) not only guarantees freedom of speech and
expression, it also ensures and comprehends the right of the
citizens to know, the right to receive information regarding
matters of public concern.

ARTICLE 21: This article talks about right to life and personal liberty,
which includes the right to know about things that affect our lives. The
expression ―life and personal liberty is a broad term, which includes
within itself variety of rights and attributes. The Supreme Court read
into this article the right to know within its purview - Reliance
Petrochemicals Ltd v. Proprietors of Indian Express (1989). The
apex court held that ―right to know is a necessary ingredient of
participatory democracy. It is wide enough to expand to a full range of
rights including the right to hold a particular opinion and the right to
sustain and nurture that opinion. It confers on all persons a right to
know which includes right to information.
➢ There is a strong link between Article 21 and the right to know –
Essar Oil Ltd. v. Halar Utkarsh Samiti
In a democratic setup there must be direct participation of the people
in the democracy. This participation is meaningless unless the citizens
are well informed on all sides of issues in respect of which they are
called upon to express their views. One sided information,
disinformation, misinformation and non-information all equally create
uninformed citizenry which makes democracy a farce. Thus, the
Judiciary through its power of interpretation has recognised the right
to know or the right to information as a fundamental right. It is due to
such judicial creativity that we have numerous rights which are not
explicitly found in the Constitution.