1. RIGHT TO INFORMATION
ACT 2005
DR. N. C. DAS

2. RIGHT TO INFORMATION
Every citizen under the constitution has a right
to know the functional status of Government or
Public offices.
RTI secure access to information that is under
control of Public Authorities.
Which includes the right to-
i) Inspection of work, documents, records;
ii)Taking notes, extracts or certified copies of
documents or records;
iii) Taking certified samples of material;

3. RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT, 2005
SHORT TITLE OF THE ACT:
“THE RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT” 2005
OFFICIAL CITATION
ACT NO. 22 OF 2005
DATE OF PRESIDENTIAL ASSENT
15TH JUNE, 2005

4. OBJECTIVE OF RTI ACT
To provide a legal framework of citizens’ democratic
right to access to information under the control of public
authorities
To promote transparency ensuring:
accountability,
harmonize conflicting interests and priorities in
operations of government, and use of resources,
realization of human rights and
practice of revelation of information to preserve
democratic ideals
To promote accountability in the functioning of
every public authority there by reduce corruption
Better record keeping and decision making

5. COMPONENTS OF THE ACT

6. TYPES OF INFORMATION
Any material in any form which provides information
regarding public functioning

7. INFORMATION
DOCUMENTS RECORDS
● circulars (a) any document,
● orders manuscript and file;
● logbooks (b) any microfilm, microfiche
● contracts and facsimile copy of a
● reports document;
● papers
● (c) any reproduction of
samples
● image or images embodied
Models
● in such microfilm (whether
data material
● enlarged or not)
memos
● e-mails (d) any other material
● press releases produced by a computer or
any other device;
Information relating to any private body which can be accessed by a
public authority under any other law for the time being in force.

8. MODE OF COLLECTION
 Inspection of work, documents, records;
ii) Taking notes, extracts or certified copies of
documents or records;
• Taking certified copies of material;
 Obtaining information in the form of
diskettes, floppies, tapes, video
cassettes or in any other electronic mode or
through printouts where such information is
stored in a computer or in any other device;

9. IDEALS OF GOOD
TRANSPARENCY LAW
Maximum Voluntary Disclosures
Easily accessible – cost effective, local
language, and effective method of
communication locally.
Independent and Non-judicial appellate
mechanism
Stringent Penalty for defiance
Empowerment of citizens

10. COVERAGE OF RTI ACT
•Came into effect from 12 October, 2005 repealing ‘The
Freedom of Information Act, 2002’
•Covers central, state and local governments, all bodies
owned, controlled or substantially financed by
government;
•Non-government organization substantially financed,
directly or indirectly by funds provided by the
appropriate Govt.
•Covers the executive, judiciary and legislature
•Includes information relating to any private body which
can be accessed by a public authority under any other
law for the time being in force

11. WHO HAS RIGHT TO INFORMATION
Subject to the provisions of this Act :
All citizens shall have the right to
information.
Every public authority shall maintain all its
records duly catalogued , indexed,
computerised and connected through a
network all over the country on different
systems so that access to such records is
facilitated.

12. SHIFTING PARADIGM UNDER THE ACT
• PAST • PRESENT
• Request  Command
• Access to Privilege few  Open to Entire population
• Opaque and unaccountable  Transparency, open and
system accountable system
• Part of Right to Freedom of  Part of constitutional
Speech & expression guarantees under Fundamental
Rules including Life and Liberty
• Legal entitlement  Tool to fight corruption &
Arbitrary use of power
• Arbitrariness  Ethical & participative
democracy
• From Information  To accountability & beyond
• Flow of communication Inward
(Superiors)  Outward (Citizens)

13. RECORDS MANAGEMENT SHIFT
• Storage Driven  Retrieval Driven
• Setting Performance  Compulsory
standards (optional)
• Restrictive Regime  Suo motu Disclosure
•Improve Records Management by Computerization
•Put more information suo motu in the Public Domain
•Completeness of Information
•Contextualize Information, so that its significance is self evident
•Facilitating easy and relatively safe access for public
•Provide quick relief and justice to public
•Improve Decision Making process
•Critically examine and stream line the existing operating procedures
•Develop standards of performance/norms
•Review operating Manuals
•Set up Documentation/Learning Resource Centers

14. PUBLIC AUTHORITY
Any authority or body or institution of self-
government established or constituted-
(b) by or under the Constitution;
(c) by any other law made by Parliament;
(d) by any other law made by State Legislature;
Any authority or body or institution of self-
government established or constituted-
(d) by notification issued or order made by the
appropriate Government including Non-
Government organisation substantially financed,
directly or indirectly by funds provided by the
appropriate Government

15. ORGANISATION INFORMATION FLOW
 Every public authority shall publish within one hundred
and twenty day from the enactment of this Act-
 The particulars of its organisation, and 16 other
categories of
 Information as per sub-clauses (i) to (xvii) of s.4(1) (b)
 Every public authority shall- publish all relevant facts
while formulating important policies or announcing the
decisions which affect public. s.4(1)(c)
 Provide reasons for its administrative or quasi-judicial
decisions to affected persons. s.4(1)(d)
 To provide as much information suo motu to the
public at regular intervals through various means
of communications

16. APPOINTMENT OF PUBLIC
INFORMATION OFFICERS(PIO)
•Every public authority shall, within one hundred days of the
enactment of this Act, designate as many officers as the
Central/State Public Information Officers (PIO) in all
administrative units or offices under it as may be necessary
to provide information to persons requesting for the
information under this Act. s.5(1).
•At each sub-divisional level or other sub-district level as a
Central/State Assistant Public Information Officer to
receive the applications for information or appeals under this
Act for forwarding the same forthwith to the Central/State
Public Information Officer
•Every PIO shall deal with requests from persons seeking
information and render reasonable assistance to the persons
seeking such information.

17. PROCESS OF OBTAINING
INFORMATION
Application to be submitted in writing or
electronically, in English or Hindi or in the official
language of the area with prescribed fee, to Public
Information Officer (PIO).
Where such request cannot be made in writing, the
PIO shall render all reasonable assistance to the
person making the request orally to reduce the same
in writing.
An applicant shall not be required to give any
reason for requesting the information

18. DISPOSAL OF REQUEST
The PIO on receipt of a request shall, as expeditiously as
possible, and in any case within 30 days of the receipt of the
request, either provide the information or reject the request for
any of the reasons specified in sections 8 and 9.
Where an application for information or appeal is given to
APIO, a period of five days shall be added in computing the
period for response.
Where the information sought for concerns the life or liberty
of a person, the same shall be provided within forty-eight hours
of the receipt of the request.
DEEMED REFUSAL:
If the PIO fails to give decision on the request for information
within the period specified the PIO shall be deemed to have
refused the request

19. ADDITIONAL FEES
Where a decision is taken to provide the
information and additional fee is required as per
rule, the PIO shall send an intimation to the
requester, giving the details of further fees , the
calculations, requesting him to deposit that fees.
The fee shall be reasonable if under rule and no
such fee shall be charged from the persons who are
of below poverty line.
The requester shall be provided the information
free of charge where a public authority fails to
comply with the time limits specified.

20. REJECTION OF REQUEST
Where a request has been rejected , the PIO shall communicate to the
requester-
(i)the reasons for such rejection;
(ii) the period within which an appeal against such rejection may be
preferred; and
(iii)the particulars of the appellate authority.
EXEMPTION FROM DISCLOSURE:
(f)Information, disclosure of which would prejudicially affect the
sovereignty and integrity of India,
(b)The security, strategic, scientific or economic interests of the State,
relation with foreign State or lead to incitement of an offence
(c) information which has been expressly forbidden to be published by any
court of law or tribunal or the disclosure of which may constitute contempt
of court.
(d) information, the disclosure of which would cause a breach of privilege
of Parliament or the State Legislature.
(dd)Any information, which relates to or has been supplied by a third party
and has been treated as confidential

21. e) information including commercial confidence, trade
secrets or intellectual property, the disclosure of which
would harm the competitive position of a third party
(f) information available to a person in his fiduciary
relationship,
(g) information received in confidence from foreign
Government.
h) information, the disclosure of which would endanger the
life or physical safety of any person or identify
(i) information which would impede the process of
investigation or apprehension or prosecution of offenders
(j) cabinet papers including records of deliberations of the
Council of Ministers, Secretaries and other officers before
decision

22. (k) information which relates to personal information the
disclosure of which has no relationship to any public
activity or interest, or which would cause unwarranted
invasion of the privacy of the individual
(l)The information which cannot be denied to the
Parliament or a State Legislature shall not be denied to
any person.
(m)A public authority may allow access to information, if
public interest in disclosure outweighs the harm to the
protected interests.
(n)Infringes copyright, except of the state.

23. COMPETENT AUTHORITY UNDER RTI
 The Speaker in the case of the House of the People or
the Legislative Assembly of a State or a Union territory
having such Assembly
 The Chairman in the case of the Council of States or
Legislative Council of a State
 The Chief Justice of India in the case of the Supreme
Court;
 The Chief Justice of the High Court in the case of a
High Court;
 The President or the Governor, as the case may be, in
the case of other authorities established or constituted
by or under the Constitution;
 The administrator appointed under article 239 of the
Constitution

24. CENTRAL/STATE INFORMATION
COMMISSION
Central Chief Information State Chief Information
Commissioner Commissioner
Central Information State Information
Commissioners Commissioners
Central/State Information Commissioners, not
exceeding ten, as may be deemed necessary

25. POWERS
CIC/SIC will have powers of Civil Court such as-
a)summoning and enforcing attendance of persons,
compelling them to give oral or written evidence on oath
and to produce documents or things
b)requiring the discovery and inspection of documents
c)receiving evidence on affidavit
d)requisitioning public records or copies from any court or
office
e)issuing summons for examination of witnesses or
documents
f) Any other matter which may be prescribed.

26. Power to secure compliance of its decisions from the
Public Authority includes:
 appointing a PIO where none exists.
publishing certain information or categories of
information
making necessary changes to the records management,
maintenance and destruction procedures of the Public
Authority.
enhancing training provision for officials on RTI.
Seeking an annual report from the Public Authority on
compliance with this law.
Require it to compensate for any loss or other detriment
suffered by the requestor.
Impose penalties under this law.
Reject the appeal.

27. FUNCTIONS
Information Commission has a duty to receive complaints
from any person-
 who has not been able to submit an information request
because a PIO has not been appointed.
who has been refused information that was requested.
who has received no response to his/her information
request within the specified time limit
who thinks the fees charged are unreasonable.
who thinks the information given is incomplete or false or
misleading.
and any other matter relating to obtaining information
under this law.
CIC may initiate inquiry in the above situations if there
are reasonable grounds for so doing.

28. REPORTING BY CIC
Central Information Commission(CIC) will send an annual
report to the Central Government on the implementation of
the provisions of this law at the end of the year.
Each report will contain details of number of requests
received by each Public Authority, number of rejections and
appeals, particulars of any disciplinary action taken, amount
of fees and charges collected etc.
Each Ministry has a duty to collect and provide statistics of
its Public Authorities and send them to the CIC.
Central Government will table the CIC report before
Parliament after the end of each year.

29. APPEAL
FIRST APPEAL SECOND APPEAL
Any person who, does not receive Against the decision s.19(1) shall
a decision within the time lie within 90 days from the
specified or is aggrieved by a date on which the decision
decision of the PIO may within should have been made or
30 days from the expiry of was actually received, with the
such period or from the receipt Information Commission.
of such a decision prefer an s.19(3)
appeal to such officer who is The Information Commission shall
senior in rank to the PIO in the give a reasonable opportunity
public authority.s.19(1) of being heard to the third
party If necessary. s.19(4)

30. APPEAL
FIRST APPEAL SECOND APPEAL
Where an appeal is preferred
In any appeal proceedings, the
against an order made by PIO
onus to prove that a denial of a
under s.11 to disclose third party
request was justified shall be
information, the appeal by the
on the PIO who denied the
concerned third party shall be
request. s.19(5)
made within 30 days from the
date of the order. s.19(2) The decision of the Information
Commission shall be binding.
The first appeal shall be disposed of
s.19(7)
within 30 days of the receipt of
the appeal or within such It has the power to require the
extended period not exceeding a public authority to compensate
total of 45 days from the date of the complainant for any loss
filing thereof,, for reasons to be or other detriment suffered.
recorded in writing. s.19(8)

31. WHERE THE ACT IS NOT APPLICABLE
Nothing contained in this Act shall apply to the
intelligence and security organisations specified in
the Second Schedule.
Information pertaining to the allegations of
corruption and human rights violations shall not be
excluded.
But in such case of information sought for in respect
of allegations of violation of human rights, the
information shall only be provided after the approval
of the Central Information Commission, such
information shall be provided within 45 days from the
date of the receipt of request.

32. PENALTY
 Where the Information Commission is of the opinion
that the PIO has, without any reasonable cause:
● refused to receive an application for information
● has not furnished information within the time specified
● malafidely denied the request for information
● knowingly given incorrect, incomplete or misleading
information
● destroyed information
● obstructed in any manner in furnishing the information
 It shall impose a penalty of 250 rupees each day till
application is received or information is furnished, so
however, the total amount of such penalty shall not
exceed 25000 rupees.

33. IMMUNITY FOR ACTIONS IN GOOD FAITH.
The PIO shall be given a reasonable opportunity of
being heard before any penalty is imposed on him:
Provided further that the burden of proving that he
acted reasonably and diligently shall be on the PIO.
It shall recommend for disciplinary action against
the PIO if persistently violates the provisions of the
Act.

34. PROMOTING AWARENESS
National Conference
-To disseminate knowledge of new law and
to work through implementation and
harmonisation.
Establish an empowered Committee to look into creating
easy to use common modalities.
Design an inclusive implementation process in collaboration
with multiple stakeholders.
Develop participatory Rules and open for full Public
Comment.
Identify and Train PIOs and appellate authorities.
Publish Directory of PIOs and other key officials
Clarify responsibility for managing, monitoring and Interfacing
with Information Commission and nodal agency.

35. PROMOTING AWARENESS
Develop an Action Plan for implementation
- Identify systems and tools need to be
developed /produced.
- Guidance notes for officials, Process
Manuals, IT Monitoring Systems,
Forms, Template Responses, etc.
Review and improve Records Management
Process Reengineering
Guidelines on content and methods of Publication of
Proactive Disclosure obligation.
Clarify the application process.
Develop Training Strategy.
Set in place application & appeal monitoring system.
Design out reach strategy.

36. hospiad
Hospital Administration Made Easy
http//hospiad.blogspot.com
An effort solely to help students and aspirants
in their attempt to become a successful
Hospital Administrator.
DR. N. C. DAS