A BRIEF HISTORY OF RTI

1975 The Supreme Court rules that the people of India have a right to know

1994 Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan in Rajasthan launches movement demanding village-level information

1996 NCPRI and other groups, with support from Press Council of India, send draft RTI bill to the Union government

1997 The Shourie Committee submits its report

2001 Parliamentary committee gives its recommendations

2002 Freedom of Information Act passed in Parliament

2003 The Act gets presidential assent, but is not notified

2005 The RTI Bill is passed in Parliament; comes into force from October

1982

SC rules that the right to information is a fundamental right

1996

Civil society group National Campaign for People’s Right to Information (NCPRI) starts movement for RTI Act

1997 Government refers the draft bill to a committee headed by H.D. Shourie

2000

A case is filed in the Supreme Court demanding an RTI mechanism; Shourie Committee report is sent to a parliamentary committee

2002 Supreme Court gives ultimatum to the government regarding the right to information

2004

The RTI Bill is introduced in Parliament and referred to a parliamentary committee; this bill covered only the central government