Political parties are out of the purview of the RTI Act despite the Central Information Commission’s directive of declaring political parties as public authorities.

What is a Public Authority under RTI act?

• Section 2(h) of the RTI Act states that “public authority” means any authority or body or institution of self- government established or constituted By or under the Constitution; By any other law made by Parliament; By any other law made by state legislature; By notification issued or order made by the appropriate Government, and includes any- Body owned, controlled or substantially financed (The RTI Act does not define substantial financing.
• Consequently, courts are often required to decide whether a particular form and quantum of financial aid constitutes substantial finance.)
• Non-Government organization substantially financed, directly or indirectly by funds provided by the appropriate Government.
• The RTI Act empowers citizens with the right to access information under the control of ‘public authorities’ and imposing penalties on officials of public authorities for failing to disclose ‘information’ defined in Section 2(f).

Political Parties as Public Authorities :

• Six national parties — the BJP, the Congress, the BSP, the NCP, the CPI and the CPI(M) were brought under the ambit of the RTI Act by a full bench of the Central Information Commission in 2013. (Trinamool Congress was also recognised as the seventh national party in 2016).
• However, the political parties have refused to entertain the RTI applications directed at them.
• Several activists have approached the Supreme Court on the grounds of non-compliance of the CIC order and the matter is pending.

Arguments in favour of bringing Political parties under RTI :

• Need to ensure Transparency in Funding : According to Association for Democratic Reforms, between FY 2004-05 and 2014-15 only 31.55% of the total income of political parties was through voluntary contributions/donations and for the rest 68.45% they have evaded declaring any details by exploiting section 29C of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 which exempts them from declaring any donations below Rs 20,000.
• Crony capitalism - From FY 2004-05 to FY 2014-15, six national parties have declared receiving 88% of their total donations in excess of Rs 20,000 crore from corporate or business houses which may not be without any quid pro quo for the corporates.
• Black money -According to ADR, 34% of the donations have been received with no address or any other detail of the donor, and 40% donations have been received with no PAN details.
• Illicit foreign contributions: National parties have been accepting foreign contributions despite The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), 1976, prohibited political parties from accepting contributions from foreign companies or companies in India controlled by foreign companies.
• Political parties are vital organs of the State- According to CIC, critical role played by these political parties point towards their public character. They perform functions like government bodies and they have monopoly over selection of candidates, who will ultimately form the government. Therefore, they cannot escape the scrutiny by the common people of their functioning.
• Political parties are public authorities-The CIC held that political parties enjoy various benefits directly or indirectly like land for offices of political parties on concessional rates, allotment of free time on Doordarshan/All India Radio and supplying electoral roll copies free of cost during elections hence they are 'public authority' under section 2(h) and answerable under the RTI Act.
• Larger Public Interest: The disclosure of the information is in larger public interest. Even 170th report of Law Commission of India on reform of the electoral laws recommended to introduce internal democracy, financial transparency and accountability in the working of the political parties.

Arguments against bringing Political parties under RTI :

• Obstruct party functioning- Political parties cannot disclose their internal functioning and financial information under the Act as it will hamper their smooth functioning.
• RTI can be a tool of misuse: RTI can become a weak spot and rivals with malicious intentions may take advantage of RTI.
• Not 'public authorities'- Political parties are not established or constituted by or under the Constitution or by any other law made by Parliament. Even the registration of a political party under the 1951 Act was not the same as establishment of a government body.
• Transparency provisions for parties already exist in the Income Tax Act, 1961, and Representation of the People Act, 1951, which demand “necessary transparency regarding financial aspects of political parties.
• Information in public domain- Government holds the view that required information about a political body is already in the public domain on the website of the Election Commission.
• Not envisaged in the RTI Act -According to the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) when the RTI Act was enacted, it was never visualised that political parties would be brought within the ambit of the transparency law.

Conclusion :

• Considering the role played by the political parties in our democracy, it is important that their working be transparent in such a manner that induces trust in the whole election process. Given the fact that existing laws have not performed upto the mark in regulating the working of political parties, bringing them under the RTI with certain safeguards seems to be a logical step.