Citizens have right to invoke RTI Act for fighting graft: SC -Governance Now

Citizens have right to invoke RTI Act for fighting graft: SC

The apex court said that the Act should not be misused for extracting impractical information in an indiscriminate manner

PTI | August 12, 2011

The Supreme Court has said citizens have a right to invoke the Right To Information Act to fight corruption and bring in transparency and accountability in the administration.

"The right to information is a cherished right. Information and right to information are intended to be formidable tools in the hands of responsible citizens to fight corruption and to bring in transparency and accountability.

"The provisions of RTI Act should be enforced strictly and all efforts should be made to bring to light the necessary information under clause(b)of section 4(1) of the Act which relates to securing transparency and accountability in the working of public authorities and in discouraging corruption," the apex court said.

A bench of justices R V Raveendran and A K Patnaik made the remarks while dismissing the Central Board of Secondary Education's (CBSE) plea that students have no right to examine their evaluated answer scripts.

The apex court however, said that the Act should not be misused for extracting impractical information in an indiscriminate manner.

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