The principle that rules governing public life must be widely accessible is not new to India. The first Indian road safety standard dates back to Emperor Ashoka, who commanded that his edicts of government be broadly disseminated throughout the land. The 7th Pillar Edict, now located in Delhi, had an extensive section on road safety.
Today, this work continues under the auspices of the Indian Roads Congress. While ostensibly a non-profit association, it is actually an arm of the government; it is subject to Right to Information Act; its website is maintained by the Network Information Centre, and its governing council is predominantly composed of government officials. It is a law-making enterprise with the force of the state.
The Indian Roads Congress publishes hundreds of standards, guidelines, and specifications relating to road safety and construction. These documents cover a wide range of technical matters, including route signage for national highways, vehicle design dimensions and weights, and the design of prestressed concrete road bridges.
These standards are widely incorporated into government practice, appearing in subordinate legislation as well as in regulations issued by bodies such as the National Rural Infrastructure Development Agency and the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. The standards are also an integral part of the road construction efforts by the States and are frequently referred to in judicial opinions.
For over a decade, I’ve been systematically purchasing, scanning, and posting these road edicts on my website and on the Internet Archive, a non-profit public library based in the U.S. Many of these standards have been accessed tens of thousands of times, with even government agencies themselves reproducing and hosting copies. This work is entirely non-commercial: no fees are charged for access, no intellectual property rights are asserted, and the source of every document is clearly identified. The underlying principle is straightforward — edicts of government constitute the raw materials of democracy, and a truly informed citizenry is indispensable to ensuring a government not merely for the people, but by the people.
Recently, a “takedown” notice was issued by the Indian Roads Congress — a demand for the immediate removal of its purportedly proprietary works — accompanied by threats of legal consequences for non-compliance. That demand has not been complied with, and it is necessary to explain why.
My nonprofit makes edicts of government available; it is the essence of our mission. In India, this included posting of over 14,000 Indian Standards issued by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). Like the standards of the Indian Roads Congress, BIS standards are an integral part of public safety. It is impossible to meaningfully advance initiatives such as “Make in India” without ensuring “safe in India.” These standards cover critical areas including the National Building Code, safety requirements for motorcycle helmets and drinking water, procedures for entering sewer systems, the operation of agricultural and textile machinery, and construction practices in areas prone to typhoons. Like the Indian Roads Congress, an elaborate law-making process is used before an Indian Standard is issued.
When BIS objected to my actions, myself and two Indian co-petitioners raised a Public Interest Litigation in the Hon’ble High Court of Delhi. Our suit went on for seven years, and then something interesting happened. During those seven years, we continued to post all the BIS standards for open access, yet during that time more and more people became aware of the standards and the sales of standards by BIS went up! But, here’s the thing. Government doesn’t make money selling these publications, but they are hard to procure.
It turns out BIS was loosing more and more money as their sales went up. Recognising the inefficiency of this model, a senior official in the Ministry directed that the standards be made freely available on the BIS website. This outcome aligned with the very relief that had been sought; accordingly, the matter was brought before the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court, and a request was made to withdraw the petition. The court acceded to this request and disposed of the matter.
Parliament has recently passed the Jan Vishwas law, a move to “liberate governance from the steel cage”. A recent post by business leaders Manish Sabharwal (co-founder of TeamLease) and Rahul Matthan (co-founder of Trilegal) called for the removal of “shadow instruments” — edicts that are not readily available to read. In addition to judicial decisions and primary legislation, they identify a wide array of non-statutory instruments that nonetheless carry the force of law, including regulations, circulars, master circulars, departmental and ministerial directions, office memoranda, public notices, general orders, guidance notes, advisories, press releases, schemes, consultation papers, standard operating procedures, policies, notifications, guidelines, government orders, departmental orders, and gazettes.
These instruments constitute what may properly be described as “edicts of government.” Courts in other jurisdictions have affirmed that such edicts belong to the people. In the United States, the Supreme Court has held that “no man shall own the law,” underscoring the principle that legal materials must remain in the public domain. Similarly, in the European Union, a constitutional bench has ruled that mandatory safety standards form an integral part of the law and that ensuring public access to them is of “overriding public importance.”
As part of the implementation of Jan Vishwas, Mr. Sabharwal and Mr. Matthan have suggested that all edicts of government in India be posted on a central website, such as India Code, and that any such edict not publicly accessible should be treated as null and void. This proposal is both sound and necessary, and it ought to extend expressly to public safety standards as well.
It is important, however, to distinguish such edicts from other categories of government publications. Not all documents issued by the state carry normative or binding force; many are informational or cultural in nature, including the numerous publications produced by bodies such as the Publications Division, the National Book Trust, and the Archaeological Survey of India.
Edicts of government have a special protected place in constitutional law, but works of government are any documents issued by the state, and these public works have a special importance. I have also purchased and posted thousands of such documents from the Union and State governments, and as with edicts, have over the years received a number of takedown notices. As with the Roads Congress, I have stated my position and respectfully declined to remove the documents.
In the U.S., the “works of government” clause in the copyright act states that documents issued by the federal government are not eligible for copyright. In England, the government maintains “crown copyright” but has an open government data licene permitting reuse. It would be a simple matter for India to adopt a works of government policy.
Edicts of government are the law, and must be available for democracy to function. Works of government are also vital, public knowledge paid for by the people. Making both edicts and works more readily available will enrich our society and make government ever more relevant to the citizenry. These are small steps we can all take as we walk together up that long twisted path towards a better democracy, towards that shining city on the hill.
Carl Malamud is the president and founder of Public Resource, a U.S.-based NGO and author of 9 books.
Published - June 23, 2026 08:30 am IST
