(c)In the case Reliance Petrochemicals Limited V. Indian Express Newspapers, 1989 AIR 90 the Supreme Court observed that Article 21 includes the right to know. The Supreme Court held that the right to know is a necessary ingredient of participatory democracy. Elucidate the statement and explain the objectives of the Right to Information Act, 2005.
In the case of Reliance Petrochemicals Limited v. Indian Express Newspapers, 1989 AIR 90 the Supreme Court read into Article 21 the right to know. In this case, the Supreme Court held that right to know is a necessary ingredient of participatory democracy. In view of transnational developments when distances are shrinking, international communities are coming together for cooperation in various spheres and they are moving towards a global perspective in various fields including Human Rights, the expression “liberty” must receive an expanded meaning. The expression cannot be limited to the mere absence of bodily restraint. It is wide enough to expand to full range of rights including the right to hold a particular opinion and the right to sustain and nurture that opinion.
For sustaining and nurturing that opinion it becomes necessary to receive information. Article 21 of the Constitution of India confers on all persons a right to know which includes a right to receive information.
It may be pointed out that the right to impart and receive information is a species of the right to freedom of speech and expression. Article 19(1)(a) of Constitution of India guarantees to all citizens freedom of speech and expression. At the same time, Article 19(2) permits the State to make any law in so far as such law imposes reasonable restrictions on the exercise of the rights conferred by Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution in the interest of sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, decency, morality, contempt of court, defamation and incitement of offence.
Thus, a citizen has a right to receive information and that right is derived from the concept of freedom of speech and expression comprised in Article 19(1) (a). The State is not only under an obligation to respect the Fundamental Rights of the citizens, but it is equally under an obligation to ensure conditions under which these rights can meaningfully and effectively be enjoyed by one and all.
Right to freedom of speech and expression in Article 19 (1) (a) carries with it the right to propagate and circulate one’s views and opinions subject to reasonable restrictions as mentioned above. The prerequisite for enjoying this right is knowledge and information. Information adds something “new to our awareness and removes vagueness of our ideas”.
The Right to Information Act considered as watershed legislation, is the most significant milestone in the history of the Right to Information movement in India allowing transparency, autonomy, and access to accountability.
Objectives of the Right to Information Act, 2005 The Right to Information Act, 2005(the Act/RTI Act) confers on all citizens a right to information.
The Act provides for setting out the practical regime of right to information for citizens to secure access to information held by public authorities to promote transparency and accountability in the working of every public authority.
In the case of Anjali Bhardwaj and Others Vs. Union of India and Others in Writ Petition (Civil) No. 436 of 2018 Judgement dated February 15, 2019, the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in Paragraph 18, 19 and 68 observed that there is a definite link between right to information and good governance.
In fact, the RTI Act itself lays emphasis on good governance and recognizes that it is one of the objectives which the said Act seeks to achieve. The RTI Act would reveal that four major elements/ objectives required to ensure good governance are:
i.greater transparency in the functioning of public authorities; ii. informed citizenry for promotion of partnership between citizens and the Government in the decision-making process; iii. improvement in accountability and performance of the Government; and iv. reduction in corruption in the Government departments.
The right to information, therefore, is not only a constitutional right of the citizens but there is now a legislation in the form of RTI Act which provides a legal regime for people to exercise their fundamental right to information and to access information from public authorities. The very preamble of the Act captures the importance of this democratic right which reads as “democracy requires an informed citizenry and transparency of information which are vital to its functioning and also to contain corruption and to hold Governments and their instrumentalities accountable to the governed.”
This Act is enacted not only to sub-serve and ensure freedom of speech. On proper implementation, it has the potential to bring about good governance which is an integral part of any vibrant democracy. Attaining good governance is also one of the visions of the Constitution.
Source: ICSI Guideline Answers, June 2024, Q. 5(c) (Syllabus 2022).