Accountability is the requirement for government personnel to be liable for their conduct and performance, while Transparency is the free flow of information regarding government acts and decisions. This concept is primarily institutionalized in India through the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, a landmark legislative act that replaced the non-operational Freedom of Information Act, 2002.
The need for this act arose to replace the culture of secrecy established by the colonial-era Official Secrets Act, 1923. The constitutional foundation was laid by the Supreme Court in Raj Narain v/s Uttar Pradesh Government (1975), which established the right to know as flowing from the fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1)(a). The RTI Bill was passed on June 15, 2005, and the Act came into full force on October 12, 2005.
The Act works by allowing any citizen to request information from a "public authority," which must reply within 30 days, or 48 hours if the matter concerns the life and liberty of a person. Section 4 of the Act mandates that every public authority proactively disclose certain categories of information to minimize the need for formal requests. The Act also established the Central Information Commission and State Information Commissions to oversee its implementation and address appeals.
The concept connects directly to the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013, which establishes an ombudsman to inquire into allegations of corruption against public functionaries, including the Prime Minister and Members of Parliament. The RTI Act, 2005 was amended by the Right to Information (Amendment) Act, 2019, which removed the fixed five-year term and fixed salary for the Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) and Information Commissioners (ICs) under Sections 13 and 16. The Central Government is now empowered to notify their term of office and salaries. Additionally, the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, has recently impacted the RTI Act by modifying the scope of Section 8(1)(j), limiting the disclosure of personal data.