State of Uttar Pradesh v. Raj Narain
The Supreme Court recognised that, in a responsible government, the people have a right to know what their government is doing. This is the constitutional foundation on which the RTI Act, 2005 was later built.
Issue before the court
Whether the State could claim privilege to withhold an official document from disclosure, and how the citizen’s right to know weighs against a claim of secrecy in the public interest.
Facts in brief
In an election dispute, Raj Narain sought disclosure of a government document. The State claimed privilege over it. The case became the origin of the “right to know” in Indian law.
Holding / decision
Justice K.K. Mathew observed that in a government of responsibility, the people have a right to know every public act. The right to know flows from the freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1)(a), subject to a balancing of competing public interests.
The right to know about the working of government is a facet of the fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression — the constitutional seed of the Right to Information.
Your RTI right rests on a fundamental constitutional principle: in a democracy, the people have a right to know what the government does in their name.
When to cite this case
To anchor the constitutional foundation of the right to information / right to know.
Later developments / current status
The principle was reaffirmed in later cases (S.P. Gupta, and the election-transparency cases) and was ultimately codified in the Right to Information Act, 2005.
Source & verification
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