QUESTION 4(b)
GS4
10 marks
Developments such as the RTI Act, media and judicial activism help transparency and accountability, but can also be misused and make officers afraid to take prompt decisions. Analyze this dichotomy and suggest how the negative impacts can be minimized.
WRITE IN
7 min
150 words
What the examiner wants
Analyse how RTI, media and judicial activism aid accountability but also cause misuse and fear, and suggest remedies.
Analyze + SuggestBreak it into parts, show how the parts connect, and judge which matter most. Propose specific, workable measures.
Demand-wise check
- 1Positives: exposure of scams, better record keeping, public scrutiny≈30 words
- 2Negatives: frivolous or extortionate RTIs, media trials, judicial overreach, fear of later vigilance cases - delays and 'policy paralysis'≈30 words
- 3Minimising: protect bona fide decisions (PC Act Section 17A), record reasons, suo motu disclosure, media self-regulation, judicial restraint≈30 words
- 4Ethics: courage plus accountability≈30 words
Open in about 20 words and close in about 20.
Answer plan
BenefitsMisuse and chilling effectRemediesConclusion
Where marks usually go
- Only criticising RTI and media
- No concrete remedy
Draw this
- See-saw: transparency vs decisiveness, with safeguards as fulcrum
Value addition
- CaseCBSE v Aditya Bandopadhyay (2011): RTI should not be misused to clog administration with indiscriminate demands.Supreme Court, 2011
- LawPC (Amendment) Act 2018 added Section 17A requiring prior approval to probe decisions taken in official functions.Prevention of Corruption Act
Mapped topper copies
Reviewed public-source references related to this PYQ. Same-syllabus references are labelled separately.
- Aakash Garg · AIR 5 · Page 9 ↗Reviewed PYQ reference
- Shakti Dubey · AIR 1 · Page 7 ↗Same syllabus reference
- Aakash Garg · AIR 5 · Page 5 ↗Same syllabus reference
Links open original public sources. MainsBuddy does not host these answer sheets.
Next: plan for one minute, write it in 7 minutes, then get it checked.