Uttar Pradesh's new RTI rules "require" below poverty individuals to pay fees to make Right to Information plea

By A Representative
The newly published Right to Information (RTI) Rules by the Government of Uttar Pradesh (UP), where one of the highest percentage of poor of the country live, do not allow Below Poverty Line (BPL) individuals to file RTI without any fees. A recent analysis has found that the UP RTI Rules 4(4) & 5(1) “do not differentiate between APL and BPL RTI applicants.”
Suggesting that this runs against the RTI Act, senior RTI activist of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative says in an e-mail alert that under the Act the BPL “applicants need not pay any fee” if they “show proof of BPL identity to claim fee waiver.”
“The UP RTI Rules do not clarify this issue”, says Nayak, warning, “Unscrupulous Public Information Officers (PIOs) are likely to start quoting this Rule to tell BPL applicants that the law has been changed requiring them to pay both application fee and additional fee to obtain information.”
Pointing out that “this has happened in other places earlier”, Nayak says, Central Information Commissioner (CIC) “in an order a few years ago said that public authorities should not reject an RTI application for non-payment of application fee. It can always be collected along with the additional fee at a later date.”
In fact, Nayak says, the Uttarakhand government goes so far as to permit “the PIO to receive an RTI application unaccompanied by the application fee whom he will notify requesting fee payment. This is a citizen-friendly approach.” As against this, “the UP RTI Rules only create new grounds for PIOs to reject RTI applications in an unreasonable manner.”
Commenting on the UP RTI Rule 5(4), which permits a PIO to charge an RTI applicant for labour and material involved for supplying copies of maps and plans, Nayak insists, “This Rule has been made in complete ignorance of the standards set by the CIC.”
Nayak notes, “In the case of Subodh Jain vs DCP, West District, Delhi Police a full Bench of the CIC ruled in 2009 against charging labour, wages, search and collation fees under the RTI Act. Where maps and plans are involved only reproduction costs may be charged.”
Comments Nayak, “The UP RTI Rules appear to misinterpret the additional fee provisions laid down in Section 7 of the RTI Act. Leaving so much discretion in the hands of the PIO is likely to result in abandonment of the principle of reasonableness of fee required under the proviso of Section 7(5) of the RTI Act.”
Pointing towards another lacuna, the analysis says, the UP RTI Rule 13(1) “permits an appellant/complainant to withdraw an appeal or complaint”, while “under Rule 13(3) an appeal or complaint will abate upon the demise of the appellant/complainant.”
Comments Nayak, “Given the current scenario where 50 RTI users/activists or their kin have been murdered and hundreds more have been beaten up severely or subjected to ostracizing in a bid to make them withdraw their complaints these provisions will be used by vested interests to force an end to appeals and complaints cases”.
Recalling that when the Government of India “contemplated similar provisions, it backed off after trenchant criticism from civil society”, Nayak says, “UP has already witnessed the murder of at least 6 RTI users/activists during the last 10 years even in the absence of withdrawal and abatement provisions.”
He adds, “There is no need to strengthen the hands of vested interests in a legal manner. RTI is not in the nature of people's right to property, which will get extinguished with their withdrawal or demise. Information of interest to one person may be of interest to others.”

Comments

Veteran Major P M Ravindran said…

Its the courts that led this way! Almost all high courts have kept the application fee and cost much, much higher than what has been prescribed by the central govt. In fact some of them have introduced fee for 1st appeal also when actually it is only an additional opportunity given to the public authority to correct the mistake of its PIO!

January 16, 2016

Academics urge Azim Premji University to drop FIR against Student Reading Circle

By A Representative A group of academics and civil society members has issued an open letter to the leadership of Azim Premji University expressing concern over the filing of a police complaint that led to an FIR against a student-run reading circle following a recent incident of violence on campus. The signatories state that they hold the university in high regard for its commitment to constitutional values, critical inquiry and ethical public engagement, and argue that it is precisely because of this reputation that the present development is troubling.

Was Netaji forced to alter face, die in obscurity in USSR in 1975? Was he so meek?

By Rajiv Shah This should sound almost hilarious. Not only did Subhas Chandra Bose not die in a plane crash in Taipei, nor was he the mysterious Gumnami Baba who reportedly passed away on 16 September 1985 in Ayodhya, but we are now told that he actually died in 1975—date unknown—“in oblivion” somewhere in the former Soviet Union. Which city? Moscow? No one seems to know.

UAPA action against Telangana activist: Criminalising legitimate democratic activity?

By A Representative The National Investigation Agency's Hyderabad branch has issued notices to more than ten individuals in Telangana in connection with FIR No. RC-04/2025. Those served include activists, former student leaders, civil rights advocates, poets, writers, retired schoolteachers, and local leaders associated with the Communist Party of India (CPI) and the Indian National Congress.

Asbestos contamination in children’s products highlights global oversight gaps

By A Representative A commentary published by the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat (IBAS) has drawn attention to the challenges governments face in responding effectively to global public-health risks. In an article written by Laurie Kazan-Allen and published on March 5, 2026, the author examines how the discovery of asbestos contamination in children’s play products has raised questions about regulatory oversight and international product safety. The article opens by reflecting on lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that governments in several countries were slow to respond to early warning signs of the crisis. Referring to the experience of the United Kingdom, the author writes that delays in implementing protective measures contributed to “232,112 recorded deaths and over a million people suffering from long Covid.” The commentary uses this example to illustrate what it describes as the dangers of underestimating emerging threats. Attention then turns...

The kitchen as prison: A feminist elegy for domestic slavery

By Garima Srivastava* Kumar Ambuj stands as one of the most incisive voices in contemporary Hindi poetry. His work, stripped of ornamentation, speaks directly to the lived realities of India’s marginalized—women, the rural poor, and those crushed under invisible forms of violence. His celebrated poem “Women Who Cook” (Khānā Banātī Striyāṃ) is not merely about food preparation; it is a searing indictment of patriarchal domestic structures that reduce women’s existence to endless, unpaid labour.

Aligning too closely with U.S., allies, India’s silence on IRIS Dena raises troubling questions

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* The reported sinking of the Iranian ship IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean near Sri Lanka raises troubling questions about international norms and the credibility of the so-called rule-based order. If indeed the vessel was attacked by the American Navy while returning from a joint exercise in Visakhapatnam, it would represent a serious breach of trust and a violation of the principles that govern such cooperative engagements. Warships participating in these exercises are generally not armed for combat; they are meant to symbolize solidarity and friendship. The incident, therefore, is not only shocking but also deeply ironic.

India’s foreign policy at crossroads: Cost of silence in the face of aggression

By Venkatesh Narayanan, Sandeep Pandey The widely anticipated yet unprovoked attack on Iran on March 1 by the United States and Israel has drawn sharp criticism from several quarters around the world. Reports indicate that the strikes have resulted in significant civilian casualties, including 165 elementary school girls, 20 female volleyball players, and many other civilians.

India’s green energy push faces talent crunch amidst record growth at 16% CAGR

By Jag Jivan* A new study by a top consulting firm has found that India’s cleantech sector is entering a decisive growth phase, with strong policy backing, record capacity additions and surging investor interest, but facing mounting pressure on talent supply and rising compensation costs .

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Rajiv Shah Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Search This Blog