The Right To Information - History of RTI

The Right To Information is not a new concept in India. The foundation for the Right To Information was laid in India in the year 1975 by a landmark judgment of the Supreme Court in which it ruled that "The people of this country have a right to know every public act, everything, that is done in a public way, by their public functionaries. They are entitled to know the particulars of every public transaction in all its bearing. The right to know...is derived from the concept of freedom of speech." (State of U.P. v. Raj Narain, AIR 1975 SC 865 ). This ruling was significant because it interpreted the Right to free speech enshrined in Article 19(a) of the constitution as inclusive of the Right to Information.

However, this Right To Information, though declared by the Supreme Court as just and necessary, was still inaccessible to the common man. To give the common man access to this Right to Information, there were numerous campaigns organized in the country over a span of nearly 20 years. These campaigns, mainly led by Anna Hazare and Aruna Roy, gave a voice to people's demand for a framework for accessing their constitutional Right to Information.

The Right To Information Act, 2005 (#22/2005) came into effect on 13 October, 2005, and replaced many provisions of the Official Secrets Act of 1923, among other laws that were limiting the easy access of information to the Indian public.

The passage of this act took inspiration from the numerous state legislations that had already been passed on this issue across the country, particularly those of Maharashtra and Delhi.