Section 21 of RTI Act : Section 21: Protection Of Action Taken In Good Faith
The Right to Information Act, 2005
Bare Act
- CHAPTER VI: MISCELLANEOUS
21. No suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding shall lie against any person for anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done under this Act or any rule made thereunder.
Simplified Act
Protection from Legal Action: If someone does something or plans to do something based on the Right to Information Act, 2005 or its rules, and they do it believing it's the right thing to do (in good faith), then they cannot be sued or legally charged for that action.
Explanation using Example
Imagine a government official, Mr. Sharma, who is an Information Officer at a public department. An individual, Ms. Gupta, files a Right to Information (RTI) request seeking information about a certain government project. Mr. Sharma provides the information requested by Ms. Gupta, which includes some internal communications that were not marked as confidential.
Later, it is argued that the information shared should not have been disclosed as it could potentially affect the project's progress. However, since Mr. Sharma acted in good faith, believing...