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B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 8 Right to Information 2015 Jun Question Paper with Solutions - KSLU

KSLU Solved Question Papers

Right to Information

Previous Year Question Paper with Solution

B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) · Sem 8

2015 Jun Examination

munotes.in

Mumbai

First published on munotes.in on 21 October 2026.

Published by munotes.in, Mumbai.

Model answers written and edited by the munotes.in editorial desk.

Passages from this volume may be quoted, in print, online or by an AI system, with credit: name munotes.in and link to this volume's page. The volume may not be reproduced as a whole. Full terms at munotes.in/content-license.

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The question paper reproduced here is the paper as set by Karnataka State Law University at the 2015 Jun examination.

The Paper as Set

The questions in this volume are the questions asked at the 2015 Jun examination, reproduced as Karnataka State Law University set them, in the order it set them. Long reading passages are shortened to their first and last lines and our summary; the original paper prints them in full. Only the answers are ours. See the original question paper.

Duration 3 hours · Total marks 100 · 13 questions answered

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Solve the paper first, under exam conditions and against the clock. Then read the answers here and mark your own. Reading a solution before attempting the question feels productive and teaches very little, because recognising an answer is not the same as being able to write one.

Read the original question paper

Q1Explain how RTI fulfils Abraham Lincoln's definition, the democracy is government by the people, for the people and of the people.[16]

Answer

For full marks, cover: Lincoln's three phrases and what each demands; "of the people": government and its records belong to the people (Preamble; section 3; "our money, our accounts"; Chander Shekhar v. BSNL); "by the people": the people govern only if informed, at elections and between them (Lok Prahari, Association for Democratic Reforms 2024; sections 4(1)(c), 4(1)(d); social audit); "for the people": government must serve, not exploit, and information exposes failure and misuse (Jayantilal N. Mistry, Kuldeep Singh Yadav; section 24 proviso); no office above the people (Subhash Chandra Agarwal); a worked example; the Act's design (sections 4, 6(2), 19(8), 20); where the Act falls short of the ideal; a table; conclusion.

Lincoln's definition

At Gettysburg in 1863, Abraham Lincoln described democracy as "government of the people, by the people, for the people". Each phrase makes a separate demand. Government "of" the people means that it belongs to them. Government "by" the people means that they direct it. Government "for" the people means that it acts in their interest. The RTI Act 2005 helps Indian democracy meet each demand.

"Of the people": government belongs to the people

If government belongs to the people, so do its records. Officials hold files as trustees, not owners. The Preamble of the Act begins by noting that "the Constitution of India has established democratic Republic". Section 3 gives "all citizens" the right to information. The villagers of Rajasthan who demanded to see wage registers put the idea simply: "our money, our accounts".

The Commission has applied this idea to public spending. In Chander Shekhar v. BSNL (CIC/AD/A/2009/001366, 10 November 2009), an applicant sought the bid values and item-wise quotes in a large BSNL tender after the bids were opened. BSNL pleaded commercial confidence under a non-disclosure agreement. The Central Information Commission held that after opening and evaluation the information was public. It said that a public activity using public money cannot be kept secret, and ordered disclosure. Public money is the people's money, and its use is their business.

"By the people": the people direct government

The people direct government in two ways: by choosing representatives, and by influencing decisions between elections. Both need information.

1. Choosing representatives. In Lok Prahari v. Union of India, AIR 2018 SC 1041, the question was what candidates must disclose. The Supreme Court held that candidates must also disclose the sources of income of themselves, their spouses and dependants. It directed the nomination form to be amended. Such information is relevant to a voter's choice. In Association for Democratic Reforms v. Union of India, 2024 INSC 113, a Constitution Bench struck down the Electoral Bond Scheme, which had allowed anonymous funding of parties. The voter's right to information under Article 19(1)(a) includes knowing who funds those who seek power.

2. Influencing decisions. Section 4(1)(c) requires public authorities to publish relevant facts while forming important policies, so citizens can comment before decisions are final. Section 4(1)(d) requires reasons for decisions affecting people, so they can challenge them. Social audits of public works let villagers verify spending against their own experience. Government "by the people" becomes possible between elections, not only at them.

"For the people": government serves the people

Government for the people must serve the public interest. Information exposes failure and misuse.

1. Regulators serve the public, not the regulated. In Reserve Bank of India v. Jayantilal N. Mistry, (2016) 3 SCC 525, the RBI refused to disclose inspection reports on banks, pleading a fiduciary relationship. The Supreme Court held that the RBI must uphold the public interest, not the interest of individual banks. Depositors were entitled to know.

2. Public works must be real. In Kuldeep Singh Yadav v. Irrigation and Flood Control Department (CIC/SG/A/2009/001385/4113, 14 July 2009), an applicant sought the works, budgets and contractors of a department in his constituency. The Commission directed the department to give the details of a road identified at the hearing, or to say it had not built it. Citizens can check whether money spent "for" them produced anything. A road that exists only on paper serves no one, and the Act lets the people find that out.

3. Corruption cannot hide. Even intelligence and security organisations excluded by section 24 must disclose information about allegations of corruption and human rights violations.

A worked example: the village tank

A gram panchayat announces that a village tank has been desilted at a cost of several lakh rupees. The villagers doubt it, because the tank still dries up early. One of them files an RTI application for the estimate, the measurement book, the muster roll of workers and the bills paid.

The muster roll shows the names of people who say they never worked there.
The measurement book records more earth removed than the tank could hold.
The villagers read the documents aloud at a gram sabha, and the officials must answer.

In this one example, all three of Lincoln's phrases come alive, without any court case or lawyer. The money was the people's. The people themselves examined how it was used. The exposure forces the work to be done for them. This is what the movement for the right to information, which began with exactly such public hearings, set out to achieve.

The design of the Act mirrors the definition

The Act's own design reflects the three phrases. Because government is "of" the people, no applicant need give reasons for asking (section 6(2)). An owner need not explain why he wishes to see his own accounts, and neither must a citizen. Because government is "by" the people, public authorities must publish information on their own (section 4), so that citizens can take part without first asking. Because government is "for" the people, officers who obstruct the right pay personal penalties (section 20), and the Information Commissions can order systemic reform (section 19(8)).

No office above the people

In a government of the people, every office answers to them. In Central Public Information Officer, Supreme Court of India v. Subhash Chandra Agarwal (13 November 2019), the Supreme Court's own PIO resisted a request about judges' asset declarations. A Constitution Bench held that the office of the Chief Justice of India is part of a public authority under the Act. The fact of declarations had to be disclosed. The highest court in the land accepted that it too must answer a citizen.

Where the Act falls short of the ideal

Exemptions. Some information legitimately remains closed under section 8, such as security matters and, since 13 November 2025, "information which relates to personal information".
Delay. Vacancies in Information Commissions mean long waits, and late information weakens government "by" the people.
Fear. Users who expose wrongdoing have faced threats, and no whistle-blower law is in force.
Unequal access. Citizens who cannot read or travel depend on help that is not always available.

Lincoln's phrases and the Act

Phrase	What it demands	How the RTI Act responds
Of the people	Government and its records belong to the people	Right of every citizen (section 3); public money open (Chander Shekhar)
By the people	Informed choice and participation	Candidate and funding disclosure (Lok Prahari, ADR 2024); sections 4(1)(c), (d)

Phrase	What it demands	How the RTI Act responds
For the people	Government serves the public interest	Exposure of failure and misuse (Jayantilal N. Mistry, Kuldeep Singh Yadav); section 24 proviso
No one above the people	Every office answerable	Subhash Chandra Agarwal

Conclusion. The RTI Act helps Indian democracy fulfil Lincoln's definition. It treats government as "of the people" by giving every citizen a right to its records and to an account of public money, as Chander Shekhar shows. It makes government "by the people" real by informing voters about candidates and party funding (Lok Prahari, the Electoral Bonds case). It also opens policies and reasons to public debate. It keeps government "for the people" by exposing failure and misuse, from regulators (Jayantilal N. Mistry) to local works (Kuldeep Singh Yadav). After Subhash Chandra Agarwal, no office stands above the citizen's question. Exemptions, delays and risks to users show that the ideal is not yet fully achieved.

B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 8 Right to Information 2015 Jun Question Paper with Solutions

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