APPLICATION OF RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT, 2005 TO THE PRIVATE UNAIDED INSTITUTIONS – A CRITICAL COMMENT

Abstract

The Right to Information is a Corollary of Freedom of speech and expression guaranteed under Article 19 of the Indian Constitution. The Right to Information Act of 2005 guarantees access to information from any public authority within a specified time. The ultimate objective behind the enactment of Right to Information Act is to bring transparency in the governance and ensure corruption free, efficient, responsible and accountable government. It acts as a check on the government’s decisions/functions and helps strengthening democracy. However, several governmental functions which are functions of public importance and considered to be welfare functions of state such as education, have been privatized in recent era. These functions though, being exercised mostly by the private bodies, are continued to be of public interest/importance and always regulated and controlled by the Govt. Nonetheless, the Right to Information Act did not cover these private bodies within its ambit and left them free to run as per the will of the management. The Chief Information Commission (CIC) attempted to interpret & correlate the term “information” in order to bring the Private Unaided Schools in its ambit. However, absence of express provision may be a hurdle in the exercise of Right to Information against the Private Unaided Schools. This paper is to examine the provisions of Right to Information Act and the decisions of CIC and the Higher Courts r relevant to Private Unaided Schools. This paper suggests some amendments in the Right to Information Act to this effect.