April 18, 2026

After The Delhi HC Order, RTI Act Will Become Meaningless

By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2021-01-18 15:16:47

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Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator. Author of Cyber Scams in India, Digital Arrest, The Money Trap and The Human Hack

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First it was the government that sought to dilute the provisions of the Right to Information (RTI) Act to make it difficult to obtain information from certain government departments. Now it is the turn of the courts. The Delhi High Court has decreed that whoever wishes to obtain any information from any government department will have to specify in writing why he needs the information and explain his interest in doing so. That will effectively kill the very reason for which the law was enacted. Instead of holding public servants and the government accountable for decisions taken, the Delhi HC order now tries to hold the citizen accountable for obtaining information which might expose government or civil servant highhandedness and arbitrariness. The RTI Act was designed to make it possible for people without a locus standi in the matter to obtain information. There are hundreds of other laws through which persons interested in the matter can hold government departments accountable. The RTI Act was the only avenue for the common man.

It was meant to be weapon by which the general public could expose misdeeds in government departments by demanding information about decisions taken. It was expected that the fear of disclosure would make bureaucrats to do everything above board as they would be accountable to the public who could use the RTI Act to obtain information. But successive governments have found the RTI Act a pain in the wrong place and have been using every opportunity to water down its provisions to make it a toothless tiger. Though wrong, such a reaction can be expected of them as they are directly affected by it. But why would the courts behave in this manner? Instead of reversing government decisions meant to take the sting out of the Act, the Delhi High Court has provided a handle to bureaucrats to refuse to provide information under the Act by saying that the petitioner has no locus standi to demand the information. We might as well repeal the Act and wind up the RTI wings in all departments. It will save a lot of revenue for the government. Let the public remain uninformed and the bureaucrat arrogant. 

Pic courtesy: nationalherald.com