Unconstitutional? Gujarat information commissioner bars 3 from filing RTI pleas

By Pankti Jog*
In a surprise move, Gujarat’s Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) has superseded the Right to Information (RTI) Act, asking a public authority not to accept any RTI applications from three citizens for five years. CIC, Gujarat, DP Thakar, issued an order at a scheduled hearing regarding complaint filed by Chintanbhai, Bharatiben and Dilhariben, banning them from making RTI applications for seeking information for five years.
Issued on January 5, 2021, the order claims the ban has been imposed because the applicants had repeatedly used RTI to pressurize government officials. The order tells the primary health centre (PHC) public information officer (PIO), Jesar, and the chief district health officer (CDHO) Bhavnagar, (appellate authority) not to accept or entertain any RTI plea or appeal for the three citizens from the date the order was issued for the next five years.
This is the first time in RTI’s history in India when an information commissioner has banned any citizen from seeking information from a public authority. As per the RTI Act, an information commissioner has power to only impose penalty or recommend departmental inquiry against a PIO if PIO fails to furnish information. But there is no provision in the Act which bans a citizen from using RTI to seek information.
The order is unconstitutional, as the RTI Act has been passed by Parliament, and under the law, there is no power with any state or Central information commissioner to prevent any citizens from filing RTI or to ask any public authority not to implement the law. The CIC, Gujarat, has misinterpreted a Delhi High Court order, which he has quoted in order to deny a citizen’s lawful right of seeking information. There is nothing in the High Court order justifying such a move.

DP Thakar

In the order on Shail Sahni vs Sanjeev Kumar and Ors, dated February 5, 2014, Justice Manmohan merely observed, "This Court is of the view that misuse of the RTI Act has to be appropriately dealt with, otherwise the public would lose faith and confidence in this 'sunshine Act. A beneficent Statute, when made a tool for mischief and abuse must be checked in accordance with law."
The Gujarat CIC’s order will give free hand to deny information to public authorities in the state. The RTI helpline (9924085000), run by the Mahiti Adhikar Gujarat Pahel (MAGP), has been receiving calls over the last few months, wherein citizens have been complaining that they are being threatened by officials of the State Information Commission not to make repeated RTI pleas or appeals, or else they would be banned from using the RTI Act.
The RTI Act has no provisions to prevent citizen from filing RTI or making an appeal with a public authority. As Gujarat CIC’s order is unconstitutional, MAGP has appealed to the Gujarat Information Commission (GIC) to immediately withdraw it. The order reveals incompetence on the part of those handling GIC in interpreting the RTI Act, as also ignorance about the Act. The Gujarat CIC is incompetent in fulfilling the responsibility given by the Act.
Such an approach of GIC will not only mislead public authorities for denying information but will also make RTI ineffective. If a citizen violates a law, the state is competent enough to take action against her or him under appropriate legal provisionis. But the commission cannot prevent implementation of the RTI Act passed by Parliament by merely citing an incident.
Parliament of the country, through the RTI Act, has sought to protect and enhance citizens’ right to seek information and making governance transparent. MAGP expects that GIC would proactively fulfill its responsibility.
---
*Executive secretary, Mahiti Adhikar Gujarat Pahel, Gujarat

Comments

Whither space for the marginalised in Kerala's privately-driven townships after landslides?

By Ipshita Basu, Sudheesh R.C. In the early hours of July 30 2024, a landslide in the Wayanad district of Kerala state, India, killed 400 people. The Punjirimattom, Mundakkai, Vellarimala and Chooralmala villages in the Western Ghats mountain range turned into a dystopian rubble of uprooted trees and debris.

Advocacy group decries 'hyper-centralization' as States’ share of health funds plummets

By A Representative In a major pre-budget mobilization, the Jan Swasthya Abhiyan (JSA), India’s leading public health advocacy network, has issued a sharp critique of the Union government’s health spending and demanded a doubling of the health budget for the upcoming 2026-27 fiscal year.

Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar’s views on religion as Tagore’s saw them

By Harasankar Adhikari Religion has become a visible subject in India’s public discourse, particularly where it intersects with political debate. Recent events, including a mass Gita chanting programme in Kolkata and other incidents involving public expressions of faith, have drawn attention to how religion features in everyday life. These developments have raised questions about the relationship between modern technological progress and traditional religious practice.

Election bells ringing in Nepal: Can ousted premier Oli return to power?

By Nava Thakuria* Nepal is preparing for a national election necessitated by the collapse of KP Sharma Oli’s government at the height of a Gen Z rebellion (youth uprising) in September 2025. The polls are scheduled for 5 March. The Himalayan nation last conducted a general election in 2022, with the next polls originally due in 2027. However, following the dissolution of Nepal’s lower house of Parliament last year by President Ram Chandra Poudel, the electoral process began under the patronage of an interim government installed on 12 September under the leadership of retired Supreme Court judge Sushila Karki. The Hindu-majority nation of over 29 million people will witness more than 3,400 electoral candidates, including 390 women, representing 68 political parties as well as independents, vying for 165 seats in the 275-member House of Representatives.

Jayanthi Natarajan "never stood by tribals' rights" in MNC Vedanta's move to mine Niyamigiri Hills in Odisha

By A Representative The Odisha Chapter of the Campaign for Survival and Dignity (CSD), which played a vital role in the struggle for the enactment of historic Forest Rights Act, 2006 has blamed former Union environment minister Jaynaynthi Natarjan for failing to play any vital role to defend the tribals' rights in the forest areas during her tenure under the former UPA government. Countering her recent statement that she rejected environmental clearance to Vendanta, the top UK-based NMC, despite tremendous pressure from her colleagues in Cabinet and huge criticism from industry, and the claim that her decision was “upheld by the Supreme Court”, the CSD said this is simply not true, and actually she "disrespected" FRA.

With infant mortality rate of 5, better than US, guarantee to live is 'alive' in Kerala

By Nabil Abdul Majeed, Nitheesh Narayanan In 1945, two years prior to India's independence, the current Chief Minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan, was born into a working-class family in northern Kerala. He was his mother’s fourteenth child; of the thirteen siblings born before him, only two survived. His mother was an agricultural labourer and his father a toddy tapper. They belonged to a downtrodden caste, deemed untouchable under the Indian caste system.

Stands 'exposed': Cavalier attitude towards rushed construction of Char Dham project

By Bharat Dogra* The nation heaved a big sigh of relief when the 41 workers trapped in the under-construction Silkyara-Barkot tunnel (Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand) were finally rescued on November 28 after a 17-day rescue effort. All those involved in the rescue effort deserve a big thanks of the entire country. The government deserves appreciation for providing all-round support.

Ganga-Jamuni Tehzeeb: Akbar to Shivaji -- the cross-cultural alliances that built India

By Ram Puniyani What is Indian culture? Is it purely Hindu, or a blend of many influences? Today, Hindu right-wing advocates of Hindutva claim that Indian culture is synonymous with Hindu culture, which supposedly resisted "Muslim invaders" for centuries. This debate resurfaced recently in Kolkata at a seminar titled "The Need to Protect Hinduism from Hindutva."

Drowning or conspiracy? Singapore findings deepen questions over Zubeen Garg’s death

By Nava Thakuria* For millions of fans of Zubeen Garg, who died under unexplained circumstances in Singapore on 19 September last year, disturbing news has emerged from the island nation. Its police authorities have stated that the iconic Assamese singer died while intoxicated and swimming in the sea without a mandatory life jacket.

Search This Blog