Section 3: Right to information
Subject to the provisions of this Act, all citizens shall have the right to information.
Comments
People’s Union for Civil Liberties v. Union of India, (2004) 2 SCC 476: Speech and expression is a fundamental right under article 19 of the Constitution of India. The Right to Information is an integral part of the speech and expression, thus indisputably right to Information is a fundamental right.
Secretary Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Govt. of India v. Cricket Assn. of Bengal, (1995) 2 SCC 161; A citizen has a fundamental right to use the best means of imparting and receiving information and as such to have an access to telecasting for the purpose. However, this right to have an access to telecasting has limitations on account of the use of the public property, viz., the airwaves, involved in the exercise of the right and can be controlled and regulated by the public authority.
This limitation imposed by the nature of the public property involved in the use of the electronic media is in addition to the restrictions imposed on the right to freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(2) of the Constitution.
People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) v. Union of India, (2003) 4 SCC 399: The very objective of recognizing the right to information as part of the fundamental right under Article 19(1)(a) in order to ensure free and fair elections would be frustrated if the ban prescribed by Section 33-B is taken to its logical effect. The second reason is that the ban operates despite the fact that the disclosure of information now provided for is deficient and inadequate by blocking the ambit of disclosures only to what has been specifically provided for by the amendment.
Parliament failed to give effect to one of the vital aspects of information viz. disclosure of assets and liabilities and thus failed in substantial measure to give effect to the right to information as a part of the freedom of expression. Parliament has unduly restricted the ambit of information which the citizens should have and thereby impinged on the guarantee enshrined in Article 19(1)(a)
Namit Sharma v. Union of India, (2013) 1 SCC 745: Transparency, accountability, removal of corruption, citizen-government participation, are some of the ideals of RTI Act. Social legislations on right to education and NREGA also get support from RTI Act to achieve their objectives under RTI Act. Balancing openness with preserving confidentiality and privacy where warranted is required. RTI Act seeks to strike balance between competing interests.
Indian Institute of Science v. Central Information Commission, (2011) 1 Mah LJ 63 (Bom): All citizens shall have the right to information. While entertaining an application for information made under the Act, the locus standi or the intention of the applicant cannot be questioned and is required to furnish all the information sought by him except what has been exempted under Section 8 therein.
