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RTI AND OTHER LAWS IN INDIARTI AND OTHER LAWS IN INDIA

By M.L. Sharma

Central Information Commissioner

Right to Information Act, 2005, aims at promoting

transparency and accountability in public life.

• Also aims to contain corruption and to hold Govts. and its instrumentalities accountable to the governed by informed citizenry..

• Section 3 confers all citizens of India the right to have information.

• Section 4 mandates every public authority to maintain all its records duly catalogued, indexed and compurtised so as to facilitate release of information.

• Request for information can be made u/s 6 and is disposed of u/s 7.

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Other laws in India can broadly be divided in 03 categories.

• Laws which provided for maintenance of public records;

• Laws which provide for disclosure of public documents; &

• Laws which deal with matters of commercial confidence, trade secrets or intellectual property etc, which essentially bar disclosure.

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Public records Act, 1993, falls in first category

• Section 2 (e) defines ‘Public Records’

• Section 3 empowers Central Govt. to coordinate, regulate and supervise operations connected with administration and management of Public Records.

• Section 6 (1) enumerates responsibilities of Record Officer.

• These provisions are in line with section 4 (1) of the RTI Act.

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Laws which provide for disclosure of information :-

1) Indian Evidence Act – Section 76

2) Code of Criminal Procedure – Section 91 (1)

3) Income Tax Act – Section 138 (1) (b) of IT Act.

4) The Trade Marks Act, 1999 – Section 148

5) The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 – Section 78

Contd………

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6) The Designs Act, 2000 – Sections 17 & 18

7) The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers Rights Act, 2001 – Section 84

8) The Semi-conductor Integrated Circuits Lay Out Design Act, 2000 – Section 87

9) The Biological Diversity Act, 2000.

10) The Factories Act, 1948 – Sec. 41B

11) The Environment Protection Act, 1986Contd………

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13) The Companies Act, 1956.

14) The Delimitation Act, 2002 – Sections 10 & 11

15) The Representation of Peoples Act, 1951 – Sections 33A, 33B, 38, 71-75, 75A, 78A, 78B.

16) The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 – Sections 20, 23 & 46

• Central Govt. to incorporate disclosure provisions in existing laws as to in laws to be enacted in future.

• This may reduce pressure on CPIOs & AAs.

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Laws which bar disclosure of information, viz.

• A Copy Rights Act, 1957.

• The Patents Act, 1970.

• The Official Secrets Act, 1923.

• However, the provisions of RTI Act, override provisions of existing laws. Section 8 (2) of the RTI Act permits disclosure of information, if public interested in disclosure out weighs the harm to protected interests.

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