RIGHT INFORMATION ACT- 2005

 

Short title, extent and commencement  

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.

 (3  )  The provisions of  sub-section (1) of section 4,  sub-sections (1) and (2) of section 5, sections 12, 13, 15,16, 24, 27 and 28 shall come into force at once, and the remaining  provisions  of  this  Act  shall  come  into  force  on  the  one  hundred  and twentieth day of its enactment.

Definitions.                           

 

2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,

         (a) "Appropriate Government"  means in relation to a public authority which is established, constituted, owned, controlled or substantially financed by funds provided directly or indirectly

(i) by the Central Government  or the Union territory administration, the  Central Government;

 

(ii) by the State Government, the State Government;

        (b) "Central Information Commission" means the Central Information Commission constituted under sub-section (1) of section 12;   

     (c) "Central Public Information Officer" means  the  Central Public Information Officer  designated  under  sub-section  (1)  and  includes  a  Central  Assistant  Public Information Officer designated as such under sub-section (2) of section 5;              

     (d) "Chief Information Commissioner" and "Information Commissioner" mean the Chief  Information  Commissioner  and  Information  Commissioner  appointed  under sub-section (3) of section 12;             

            (e)   "Competent authority" means 

(i)   the  Speaker  in  the  case  of  the  House  of  the  People  or  the  Legislative Assembly of  a State or a  Union territory having such Assembly and the Chairman in the case  of  the Council of  States or Legislative Council  of a State;

 

(ii)    the Chief Justice of India in the case of the Supreme Court;

 

(iii)  the Chief Justice of the High Court in the case of a High Court;

 

(iv)   the President or the  Governor, as the case  may be, in the case of other authorities established or constituted by or under the Constitution;

 

(v)   the administrator appointed under article 239 of the Constitution;

 

                (f) "Information" means any material in any form, including records, documents, memos,  e-mails,  opinions,   advices,  press   releases,  circulars,   orders,  logbooks, contracts, reports, papers, samples, models, data material held in any electronic form and information  relating to any private  body which can be accessed by a public authority under any other law for the time being in force;

            (g) "Prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act by the appropriate Government or the competent authority, as the case may be; 

            (h)  "public  authority"   means  any  authority  or  body  or  institution  of  self- government established or constituted 

(a)   by or under the Constitution;

(b)    by any other law made by Parliament;

(c)   by any other law made by State Legislature;

(d)   by notification issued or order made by the appropriate Government,  and includes any directly or indirectly by funds provided by the appropriate Government;  

 

(i)           body owned, controlled or substantially financed;

(ii)          non-Government organisation substantially financed,

 

             (i) "Record" includes 

(a)   any document, manuscript and file;

(b)   any microfilm, microfiche and facsimile copy of a document;

(c)   any reproduction of image or images embodied in such microfilm (whether enlarged or not); and

(d)   any other material produced by a computer or any other device;

 

             (j) "Right to information" means the right to information accessible under this Act which is held by or under the control of any public authority and includes the right to 

(i)   inspection of work, documents, records;

(ii)  taking notes, extracts or certified copies of documents or records;

(iii) taking certified samples of material;

(iv)  obtaining  information  in  the  form  of  diskettes,  floppies,  tapes,   video cassettes or in any other electronic mode or through  printouts where such information is stored in a computer or in any other device;

             (k)  "State  Information  Commission"  means  the  State  Information  Commission constituted under sub-section (1) of section 15;

         (l) "State Chief Information Commissioner" and "State Information Commissioner" mean   the   State   Chief   Information   Commissioner   and   the   State   Information Commissioner appointed under sub-section (3) of section 15;

          (m) "State Public Information Officer" means the State Public Information Officer designated  under sub-section (1) and includes a State  Assistant Public Information Officer designated as such under sub-section (2) of section 5; 

                (n)  "Third  party"  means  a  person  other  than  the  citizen  making  a  request  for information and includes a public authority