Right to Information Act 2005
- This law was passed by Parliament on 15 June 2005 and came fully into force on 12 October 2005.
- It mandates timely response to citizen requests for government information by various public authorities under Central Government as well as the State Governments.
- The law imposes penalty for wilful default by government officials.
- Citizens can ask for anything that government can disclose to Parliament.
- Objectives of RTI are to empower citizens (as right to information is fundamental right of the citizens under Article 19), promote transparency and accountability in working of Government, check corruption and make our democracy work for the people in real sense.
- Public authorities defined under this law are required to reply expeditiously or within thirty days of the request.
- The law also mandates every public authority to computerise their records for wide dissemination and proactively certain categories of information so that citizens need minimum recourse to request for information formally.
The basic object of the Right to Information Act is to empower the citizens, promote transparency and accountability in the working of the Government, contain corruption, and make our democracy work for the people in real sense. An informed citizenry will be better equipped to keep necessary vigil on the instruments of government and make the government more accountable to the governed
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