How can the central government strike down a state legislation?
Right to Information (RTI) does not explicitly figure in any of the lists under the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution. The central government therefore has taken the convenient stance that it falls under its residuary powers. RTI activists all over the country on the other hand point out that the right to information has been declared as the fundamental right of citizens under Article 19 by various pronouncements of the Supreme Court. The commission on the review of the Constitution has even recommended that this fundamental right be explicitly incorporated in the Constitution. A legislation on RTI does not grant any additional rights on citizens. It merely codifies the process for exercising of this fundamental right by citizens. It, therefore, is more logical to presume that both the central and state governments are empowered to simultaneously bring in legislations on the subject. The matter will be taken up if and when the central government asks the state legislations to be rep
