NRI India Laws: Right to Information

In 2007, a survey was conducted among various sections of NRIs who were based in the US. This survey was carried out by the Association for India’s Development, which is a United States non-profit group. What makes the survey interesting is that it tossed up some findings on NRI India laws.

The survey concluded that 81% respondents paid bribes in India at various stages such as for getting a driver’s license, obtaining passport while leaving India and making payments to customs while re-entering India. Surprisingly, the NRIs seemed more familiar with what’s against the law than what is in tandem with NRI India laws. The survey revealed that 75% of the respondents didn’t even know about the Right to Information (RTI) Act. The RTI Act was enacted in 2005 and section 4 of the Act contains provisions that enable the NRIs to obtain vital information.

NRI India Laws:  Equal Right to Information

The first instance when an NRI’s right to information made headline news was in 1998, when Dr Kunal Saha, a US-based NRI who was renowned for his contribution to the AIDS vaccine research, sued Kolkata doctors for administering wrong dose/treatment to his wife. The wrong dose led to his wife’s death. Dr. Saha appealed before the Supreme Court, pleading the right to information. Justices S B Sinha and Cyriac Joseph, in a landmark ruling, guaranteed that NRIs have an equal right to information under this Act. However, Dr. Saha’s claim for Rs 1.43 billion as compensation (the highest claim in the country till date) is still under consideration.

Clearly, NRIs have reason to take advantage of the fact that the Supreme Court and other courts in the country recognize their right to information. The NRIs, lets not forget, include every person of Indian origin, who has the status of Pravasi Bharatiya.  They have the right to obtain pertinent information under the Act.  However, they need to send their queries directly to the public authorities based in India. The earlier procedure they followed was to submit their queries at the Indian embassy in the Washington DC which would forward the same queries to the concerned authorities. This procedure has been done away with so that the NRIs can have direct contact with the concerned authorities.