🔆 Analysis of the Right to Information (RTI) Act's dilution, focusing on judicial interpretations and implementation issues. 📍RTI Act's Original Intent: ✅Empowerment: Citizens as "rulers," seek information, curb corruption. ✅Transparency: Fundamental right codified, global best practices. 📍Dilution Factors: ✅Judicial Interpretation: 🔸CBSE vs. Aditya Bandopadhyay (2011): Section 8 (exemptions) not strictly construed, RTI not an "undesirable activity." 🔸Girish Ramchandra Deshpande (2012): "Personal information" exempt, used as precedent to deny information. 📍Implementation Issues: ✅Information Commissioners: Retired bureaucrats, slow disposal of cases, reluctance to use penal provisions. ✅Government Delays: Appointing commissioners, increased backlogs. ✅Weakening Amendments: Attempts to amend the Act, dropped after protests. Impact: ✅RTI to RDI: Right to Deny Information, "personal information" misused. ✅Citizen Disempowerment: Ordinary citizens unable to pursue denials. ✅Erosion of Fundamental Right: Article 19(1)(a) (freedom of speech). Suggested Actions: ✅Uphold Original Act: Citizens, media defend against distortions. ✅Focus on Transparency: Not "personal information" misuse. Possible Questions: ✅Prelims: Which of the following statements regarding the Right to Information (RTI) Act in India is/are correct? The Supreme Court in CBSE vs. Aditya Bandopadhyay ruled that Section 8 of the RTI Act should be strictly construed. The Girish Ramchandra Deshpande case led to a broader interpretation of "personal information" under the RTI Act. The article suggests that Information Commissioners have been highly effective in implementing the RTI Act. (a) 1 only (b) 2 only (c) 1 and 3 only (d) 2 and 3 only ✅Mains: "The Right to Information Act, intended to empower citizens and ensure transparency, has been gradually diluted through judicial interpretations and implementation challenges." Discuss this statement, highlighting the key factors contributing to the dilution of the RTI Act and suggesting measures to restore its original intent and effectiveness. #gs2 #prelims #polity #polity_governance