International Right to Information Day & Conference

International Right to Information Day & Conference

In viewing the need for preparing a competent cadre of experts having adequate knowledge of the  rules and regulations regarding the RTI Act 2005, the RTI Institute of India, organized a  conference on 28.09.2024 on the occasion of International Right to Information Day at Conference  Room No. 2, India International Centre, 40 Max Mueller Marg, Lodhi Estate, New Delhi. Theme  of the conference was “Mainstreaming Access to Information and Participation in the Public  Sector”. Shri Manish Kumar Shekhar, Chairman RTI Institute of India, New Delhi and the  convener of the programme Felicitate all the dignitaries by offering them garlands.  After, welcome address, Shri Suresh Chandra, Former Information Commissioner, Central  Information Commission, New Delhi, Dr. Niraj Kumar, Author and RTI Expert, A Grade  Certified Trainer DoPT, Government of India, Shri Manish Kumar Shekhar, Chairman, RTI,  Institute of India, New Delhi, Dr. Priya Ranjan Trivedi, President, Confederation of Indian  Universities (CIU), New Delhi, Prof. (Dr) Suranjan Das, Pro Vice Chancellor, Admas University,  Kolkata, Shri Sharad Pardhy, Vice Chancellor, Dev Sanskriti Vishwavidyalya, Gaytrikunj,  Shantikunj, Haridwar, Prof. Pradipta Kumar Nanda, Vice Chancellor, Shiksha ‘O’ Anusandhan,  Deemed to be University, Bhubneshwar, Odisha, Prof. (Dr.) Sanjeev Bansal, Addl. Pro Vice  Chancellor, Amity University, Uttar Pradesh, Director, Amity Business School, Dr. G.Ravi, Vice  Chancellor, Alagappa University, Tamil Nadu, Dr. Manisha Singh, Assistant Registrar (PIO),  National Institute of Technology, New Delhi, Dr. Ceejun C,Assistant Professor, Department of  Political Science, Miranda House, Delhi. Prof. (Dr.) S.D. Rai, Ex. Joint Director, Ministry of  Defence, Govt. of India and Director (Administration), RTI Institute of India, New Delhi, Mr.  Ashok Goel, Architect & Director at Global Academy of Vaastu and Design, Shakti Nagar, Delhi,  & Shri Ram Nagina Singh, Advocate, Supreme Court of India, lighten the lamp, jointly.  Then, Shri Manish Kumar Shekhar, Chairman RTI Institute of India, New Delhi gave an  outline for the theme of the conference and said, “The Right to Information, commonly understood  as the “right to access information held by public bodies” in international parlance, was adopted by  13 countries in 1990.” Further, he said that In popular democracy the Government should be  responsible and accountable to individuals. Therefore, the Government discloses and provides the  information of documents, files and samples required by the individuals on request. The Supreme Court  judgment in ‘Raj Narayan v. Uttar Pradesh Government says, Information Right is also part of  Constitutional and fundamental rights under the article 19(1) (a) of part three of Indian  Constitution. The Right to Information Act created a new era in the Indian democratic Republic’s political  journey.

As the Key Speaker, Shri Suresh Chandra, Former Information Commissioner, Central  Information Commission, New Delhi, spoke on the Right to Information. He told the audiences

about the historical background of Right to Information Act, 2005 quote various cases like  Subhash Chandra’s Case, Navin Jidal’s Case, R.C. Cooper’s Case, & Thalappalam ser. Coop. bank  ltd. vs. State of Kerala which focused on the determination of whether co-operative societies under  the administrative control of the Registrar of Co-operative Societies, Kerala (ROCS) could be  considered public authorities under Section 2(h) of the Right to Information Act, 2005 (RTI Act),  and were therefore bound under the RTI Act to provide information sought by a citizen. The  Supreme Court held that a co-operative society registered under the Kerala Co-operative Societies  Act, 1969 (Societies Act) was not bound by the RTI Act to provide the information requested by a  citizen and that the society did not fall within the definition of “public authority” under the RTI  Act. Apart from it, he also spoke on “sovereign’s immunity”, now known as the  “Public Interest Immunity”.

Dr. Niraj Kumar, Author and RTI Expert, A Grade Certified Trainer DoPT, Government of  India, told about the key points of Right to Information Act and said being the PIO, while you are  answering the questions raised in any RTI Application, then you must be aware what you are going  to serve. He also spoke on the amendments made by the Central Government in Section 8 of Right  to Information Act, 2005. After giving a brief introduction of the Act, he raised the questions and  asked the participants to share their problems faced by them, while making any information public.  Some suggestions were also given by him to deal with the questions asked by the information  seeker such as-

• It is the duty of the universities and other departments to conduct RTI training programs at  their institutions.
• Information must be served within the period as provided in the Act, for example 48 hours  or 2 days means 2 days, not beyond the time limit.
• Do not try to conceal, any information as required by the applicant. The entire process  should be transparent.

Mr. Ashok Goel, Director at Global Academy of Vaastu and Design and a famous RTI Activist  said that why you cannot share any information with the applicant that is required to be on a public  platform/ websites of the institutions, banks etc.