The Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005 is an act of the Parliament of India that establishes a practical regime for citizens to secure access to information under the control of public authorities. Its core purpose is to promote transparency and accountability in government functioning and to contain corruption. The Act came into full force on October 12, 2005, replacing the earlier, less effective Freedom of Information Act, 2002. The origin of the RTI Act is rooted in the Supreme Court's recognition of the right to know as an implied fundamental right flowing from Article 19(1)(a) (Freedom of Speech and Expression) and Article 21 (Right to Life and Personal Liberty) of the Constitution. This judicial foundation was laid in the 1976 case of Raj Narain vs. State of Uttar Pradesh, where the Supreme Court ruled that citizens have the right to know about the working of the government.
The Act works by empowering any citizen to request information from a "public authority," which includes bodies established by the Constitution, Parliament, or those substantially financed by the government. The mechanism mandates that a designated Public Information Officer (PIO) must provide the requested information within 30 days. If the matter concerns the life or liberty of a person, the response time is reduced to 48 hours. Section 4 of the Act also requires public authorities to proactively disclose certain information, such as their functions and budget, to minimize the need for formal applications. A key provision is Section 22, which gives the RTI Act an overriding effect over conflicting laws, including the Official Secrets Act, 1923, ensuring the RTI Act prevails in matters of information disclosure.
The Act connects to the Central Information Commission (CIC) and State Information Commissions (SICs), which are independent appellate bodies established to hear appeals against the PIO's decision. The Act has seen significant changes, notably the Right to Information (Amendment) Act, 2019, which amended Sections 13 and 16 to empower the Central Government to prescribe the term of office and salaries of the Information Commissioners, a change criticized for potentially undermining the commissions' independence. More recently, the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, amended Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act, which deals with personal information, by removing the "public interest" override, thereby narrowing the scope for disclosing personal information even if it serves a larger public good.