RIGHT TO INFORMATION WITH SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON RIGHT TO PRIVACY IN INDIA

“Information is the currency of democracy,” is very rightly said by Thomas Jefferson. Right to Information is the foundation of a democratic government. In India, democracy vests with the people of India, so we have a right to know. The Right to Information Act, 2005 was formulated which replaced the Freedom of Information Act, 2002. Privacy and RTI are related to each other. The government is accountable to the people in open governance system. In modern era, the people are more aware about their rights as well as their privacy. India’s legal system is formulating various statutes, acts and legislations to make the government accountable and transparent but the concept of privacy runs parallel to RTI. The law provides us the right to access the information held by government authorities on the other hand, the right to privacy ensures the confidentiality to access, collect and usage of personal information about them that is held by governments and private bodies. These two laws are contradictory and complicated.