Supreme Court expresses concern over misuse of RTI Act

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 16

Expressing serious concern over misuse of RTI Act for “criminal intimidation” by those unconnected with the issues raised, the Supreme Court on Monday highlighted the need to evolve guidelines to check it.

“People who are in no way connected to an issue file RTIs. Sometimes it amounts to criminal intimidation, which is a nice word for blackmail. We are not against the RTI Act but we think it is necessary to evolve some kind of guidelines to regulate this…time has come to look into its abuse,” a Bench headed by Chief Justice of India SA Bobde said.

The Bench – which also included Justice BR Gavai and Justice Surya Kant – made these comments while hearing a PIL by activist Anjali Bhardwaj seeking direction to the Centre and states to fill up vacancies of information commissioners in the Central Information Commission (CIC) and State Information Commissions (SICs).

He said when he was a judge in Mumbai once an official told him that functioning in Maharashtra “’Mantralaya’ (Secretariat) was paralysed” because of queries under RTI. There was a need to evolve a mechanism to ensure that only affected persons used it.

The Bench directed the Centre and states to appoint Information Commissioners in CIC and SICs within three months. It also asked them publish on the website the names of members of search committee that helps in the process of selection and appointment of Information Commission commissioners.

On behalf of Bhardwaj, advocate Prashant Bhushan submitted that people had a fundamental right to know and an applicant was not needed to have any personal interest in the matter he has filed an RTI about. The fear of action from those in power prevented connected persons from filing RTIs, he added.

“There are people who put on their letterheads ‘RTI Consultant’…They call themselves ‘RTI Activists’. Is that an occupation? There may be an axe to grind behind RTI requests. We want to find a way to stop the abuse of RTI Act,” the CJI said.

The top court had in February this year directed the government to fill up all the vacancies in CIC and SICs in a timely and transparent manner. It had said the Government should ensure that non-bureaucrats were also appointed as Information Commissioners in CIC and SICs.