“ MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE
(Legislative Department)
New Delhi, the 21st
June, 2005/Jyaistha 31, 1927 (Saka)
The following
Act of Parliament received the assent of the President on the 15th June, 2005,
and is hereby published for general information:—
THE RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT, 2005 No. 22 of 2005
[15th June, 2005.]
An Act to provide for setting out the
practical regime of right to information for citizens to secure access to
information under the control of public authorities, in order to promote
transparency and accountability in the working of every public authority, the
constitution of a Central Information Commission and State Information
Commissions and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
WHEREAS the Constitution of India has established democratic
Republic;
AND WHEREAS 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;
AND WHEREAS revelation of information
in actual practice is likely to conflict with other public interests including
efficient operations of the Governments, optimum use of limited fiscal
resources and the preservation of confidentiality of sensitive information;
AND WHEREAS it is necessary to harmonise these conflicting
interests while preserving the paramountcy of the
democratic ideal;
NOW, THEREFORE, it is expedient to provide for furnishing
certain information to citizens who desire to have it.
BE it enacted by Parliament in the
Fifty-sixth Year of the Republic of India as follows:—
CHAPTER I
Preliminary
1. (1) This Act may be called the Right to
Information Act, 2005.
(2) It
extends to the whole of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir....... “