This Article is written by Sushmita rawat, a Second-year law student of Mewar institute, Rajasthan

“ Corruption is a disease, a disease that eats away at a citizen’s reliance on democracy, abolishing the instinct for modernization and vision”.

Introduction:

Corruption is a universal problem faced by people all over the world. It means the unfair use of money or power by a government body or an individual for their personal use. Corruption kills the people's faith. They choose corruption because it is an easy way to get the desired money. The poor always have to bear the burden of corruption; it kills the transparency in the government system. It manifests in various forms, including bribery, embezzlement, and favouritism, leading to a loss of public trust in institutions. But where there is a problem there is also a solution which is (RTI) Right to information. RTI was enacted on June 15, 2005, by the parliament and came into force on 13 October 2005. RTI enables citizens of India to look upon the work of public authority by filing an RTI forum. It sets rules and regulations regarding the citizen's rights to access information about the public authority. RTI is not available for NRIs or foreigners. It provides public interest information held by the public authority.

After the RTI Act was enacted in 2005 social [1]Activists or institutions involved in society's welfare started to use the act against corruption. This act enables citizens to access government information and their work.

The RTI Act ensures the accountability and transparency of the public institution. Many RTI activists like Gangadhariah and Shehla Masood were harassed and killed to death. Many cases include harassment, killing, and giving life threats to people who are involved in seeking information from these public institutions.

Impact of RTI on Corruption

The implementation of RTI has shown drastic results in curbing corruption in various regions.

● Public involvement: By involving the public in assessing the information from the pub; the authority enables fostering a culture of scrutiny that discourages corrupt practices.

● Real-world evidence or verifiable data: some studies have shown that countries with strong RTI laws have tended to lower the rate of corruption, for instance, the India RTI Act enacted in 2005 has empowered citizens to challenge corrupt practices.

● Increased Reporting of Corruption[2]: RTI allows citizens to expose corrupt practices by accessing information about government spending, contracts, and decisions. Numerous whistleblowing cases have emerged, leading to investigations and prosecutions.

● Deterrence: An RTI framework can act as a strong deterrent against potential corruption. When public officials understand that their actions are open to public scrutiny, they may think twice before engaging in misconduct. The knowledge that citizens can request information and hold them accountable creates a place where transparency becomes a powerful check on misconduct.

Issues related to RTI

● Word limit: The word limit of the RTI application is limited and Denial of information on lack of producing identity proof by the Applicant.

● Misuse of RTI: RTI can act as a double side weapon misuse of this power will lead to harassment of public officials as the information sought is irrelevant to public interest in some cases.

● Awareness among the public: Many times, the public or general people are unaware of their RTI act they face quite a lot of problems while assessing the information from the public authorities like red tape, bureaucracy, etc.

Role played by key stakeholders

● Media: Media has played an important role in generating awareness at a mass scale. While there has been no major[3] Media campaign for promoting the usage of the RTI Act, nonetheless the awareness of the Act has been generated through news articles based on RTI investigation. In the context of RTI implementation, journalists at times have played a dual role – as the users of the RTI Act and as watchdogs, monitoring and scrutinizing the implementation of the Act.

● Civil Society Organizations and social activists: are enhancing the reach and awareness of RTI among the masses. It is mostly with the support of social activists and Civil Society Organizations that a person in a village can use the RTI Act to ensure his basic rights. However, given the geographical size & population, the reach of Civil Society Organizations and social activists is limited. • Civil society has also made contributions towards the training of PIOs and AAs and made them aware of their roles and responsibilities under the RTI Act.

● State Governments: had already enacted laws for access to information in some form or the other, like –Tamil Nadu (1997), Goa (1997), Rajasthan (2000), Karnataka (2000), Delhi (2001), Maharashtra (2002), Madhya Pradesh (2003), Assam (2002) and Jammu and Kashmir (2004). Post the enactment of the Central Act, some State Governments have taken innovative initiatives in line with the spirit of the Act.

● Central government: Basic institutional structure/processes have been set up as per the RTI act requirement (like the appointment of Information Commissioners, PIOs, section 4(1) (b), etc.) • The Department of Personnel & Training has been made the Nodal Department for the RTI implementation at the Central level. A centrally-sponsored scheme for capacity building and awareness generation for effective implementation of the RTI Act has been commissioned in the 11th five-year plan.

Key Judicial Rulings on the Right to Information (RTI)

To know the aspect of this right which is given by the judiciary. Some important judicial announcements have been mentioned related to various aspects of the RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT, 2005.

● Bennet Coleman vs Union of India: Supreme [4]The court held that the right to freedom and expression is a fundamental right under Article 19[1][a] which also includes the right to information and the right to knowledge.

● S.P Gupta vs Union of India Gupta vs Union of India: this case deals with the independence of the judiciary. The appointment and transfer of judges thus the process lacks transparency.

● State of U.P vs Raj Narain: this case is about the alleging misuse of public finances by a political party for the re-election of the Prime Minister of India.

● People's Union for Civil Liberties vs Union of India: in this case right to privacy was emphasized that everyone has the right to have private phone calls without interference at home or work.

Landmark Judgements

● Central Board of Secondary Education v. Aditya Bandopadhyay: In this case, the question is whether a student has the right to evaluate or check his answer sheet and take copies of the same with him. The Central Board of Secondary Education held that the information is that there existed a fiduciary relationship and hence, came under the exemption provisions of Section 8(1)(e) of the RTI Act.

Later the judgment for this case was that there was no existence of fiduciary relationships with the students who take the exams therefore it was held that students have complete right to take the copies of answer sheets with them.

● K.S. Jain Vs. CPIO, BSNL: In this case, the appellant who was also the complainant against the corruption of an officer sought copies of the final order in the disciplinary case. CIC held that the information [5]Sought by the complaint/appellant relates to a third party and the action taken by the Department is information of a personal nature and as no larger public purpose has been demonstrated by the appellant, exempt from disclosure under section 8 (1) (j) of the Act.

CONCLUSION

A knowledgeable citizen deepens the roots of democracy. An RTI Act 2005 has an applicability of pan India. The act of RTI empowers to fight against corruption and public authorities also should maintain the records of their department in digital form. There will be less chance of corruption if everyone questions the government by filling out the RTIs about the work and affairs. There will be transparency between the government and the citizens. More and more people should be made aware of the act of RTI with the help of NGOs, social help groups, and different societies. The judiciary and public officers must use exemptions in this Act responsibly. Transparency is vital for maintaining public trust, and any attempt to withhold information can undermine that trust. Ensuring that these exemptions are not misused is essential for accountability and informed public discourse.

References

[1] Parveen,G.(2019,).CanRTIeradicateCorruption?iPleaders.RetrievedSeptember 22,2024,fromhttps://blog.ipleaders.in/rti-corruption/ accessed on 22 September 2024

[2] (Aabir, 2023) Right to Information Act, 2005 - A weapon against

Corruption. Legal Service India. Retrieved September 22, 2024, from

https://www.legalserviceindia.com/legal/article-4727-right-to-information-act

2005-a-weapon-against-corruption.html accessed on 22 September 2024

[3] Malik, S. (2022). Impact Of RTI On Indian Administration. Legal Service India.RetrievedSeptember22,2024,fromhttps://www.legalserviceindia.com/legal/article-10556-impact-of-rti-on-indian-administration.html accessed on 22 September 2024

[4] Rai, D. (2020, November 27). Landmark judgments on Section 8 of the RTIAct,2005.iPleaders.RetrievedSeptember22,2024,fromhttps://blog.ipleaders.in/landmark-judgments-section-8-rti-act-2005/ accessed on 22 September 2024

[5] Unknown. (2022, December 3). RTI Act helps fight against corruption, saysRTIactivist.TheHindu.RetrievedSeptember22,2024,fromhttps://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Madurai/rti-act-helps-fight-against-corruption-says-rti-activist/article66219609.ece accessed on 22 September 2024