Delhi High Court: RTI can be used by an applicant even if other means are available
13 Jan, 2015
In a landmark judgment which is likely to have an impact on a number of RTI cases of similar nature, the Delhi High Court ruled that a citizen can use the Right to Information (RTI) Act to access an information even if it is available through any other route.
A petition was filed in the Delhi High Court against a CIC order withholding the disclosure of communication between Urban Development Ministry officials and CBI in a corruption case. M A Khan Yusufi, Information Commissioner, had upheld the view of the Ministry to deny information on the grounds that its disclosure would impede the process of prosecution and is exempt u/s 8(1)(h)
Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information which would impede the process of investigation or apprehension or prosecution of offenders;
Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information which would impede the process of investigation or apprehension or prosecution of offenders;
of the RTI Act, 2005. The Ministry had submitted that the material relied upon by the prosecution would be provided to the applicant during trial, and hence, no prejudice would be caused to him. Justice Vibhu Bakhru of the Delhi High Court held said that section 8(1)(h)
Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information which would impede the process of investigation or apprehension or prosecution of offenders;
Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information which would impede the process of investigation or apprehension or prosecution of offenders;
of the Act cannot be imposed without giving proper reasons to justify the denial. Holding that neither the first appellate authority nor the Central Information Commission considered how the information sought for would impede the process of probe, apprehension or prosecution of the petitioner, the High Court remanded the matter to the CIC to consider it afresh.
Justice Vibhu Bakhru also observed that "In my view this cannot be a ground to deny information to the petitioner. First of all, the question whether the information sought by the petitioner is relevant or necessary, is not relevant or germane in the context of the Act; a citizen has a right to information by virtue of Section 3 of the Act and the same is not condition on the information being relevant." He further observed that the fact that the petitioner has access to the material relied upon by the prosecution does not prevent him from seeking information, which he considers necessary for his defence.
The order says "The writ petition is allowed. The impugned order passed by the CIC is set aside and the matter is remanded to CIC to consider it afresh in view of aforesaid observations."
The Courts themselves have been denying information to applicants under the RTI Act holding that they should apply as per the Court procedures / rules made thereunder. Will the Courts have a relook at their own working?