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CHAPTER I
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CHAPTER I
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Preliminary
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| 1 |
(1) |
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This Act may be
called the Right to Information Act, 2005. |
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(2) |
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It extends to the whole of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir. |
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(3) |
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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. |
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Definitions |
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Definitions |
| 2 |
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In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,— |
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(a) |
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"appropriate Government" means in relation to a public authority which
is established, constituted, owned, controlled or substantially financed by
funds provided directly or indirectly— |
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(i) |
by the Central Government or the Union territory administration,
the Central Government; |
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(ii) |
by the State Government, the State Government; |
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(b) |
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"Central Information Commission" means the Central Information
Commission constituted under sub-section (1) of section 12; |
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(c) |
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"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; |
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(d) |
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"Chief Information Commissioner" and "Information Commissioner"
mean the Chief Information Commissioner and Information Commissioner appointed
under sub-section (3) of section 12; |
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(e) |
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"competent authority" means— |
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(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; |
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(ii) |
the Chief Justice of India in the case of the Supreme Court; |
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(iii) |
the Chief Justice of the High Court in the case of a High Court; |
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(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; |
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(v) |
the administrator appointed under article 239 of the Constitution; |
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(f) |
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"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; |
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(g) |
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"prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act by the
appropriate Government or the competent authority, as the case may be; |
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(h) |
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"public authority" means any authority or body or institution of
self- government established or constituted— |
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(a) |
by or under the Constitution; |
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(b) |
by any other law made by Parliament; |
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(c) |
by any other law made by State
Legislature; |
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(d) |
by notification issued or order made by the appropriate Government,
and includes any— |
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(i) |
body owned, controlled or substantially financed; |
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(ii) |
non-Government organization substantially financed,
directly or indirectly by funds provided by the appropriate Government; |
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(i) |
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"record"
includes— |
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(a) |
any document, manuscript and file; |
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(b) |
any microfilm, microfiche and facsimile copy of a document; |
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(c) |
any reproduction of image or images embodied in such
microfilm (whether enlarged or not); and |
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(d) |
any other material produced by a computer or any other device; |
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(j) |
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"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— |
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(i) |
inspection of work, documents, records; |
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(ii) |
taking notes, extracts or certified copies of documents or records; |
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(iii) |
taking certified samples of material; |
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(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; |
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(k) |
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"State Information Commission" means the State Information
Commission constituted under sub-section (1) of section 15; |
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(l) |
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"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; |
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(m) |
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"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; |
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(n) |
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"third party" means a person other than the citizen making a request
for information and includes a public authority. |
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