Use of Right to Information Act for searching the bridegrooms
6 Nov, 2012An interesting use of the Right to Information Act has been reported from the state of Uttar Pradesh where individuals are filing RTI applications with the police to know if there are any police records of the boy who is being considered for marriage. Fathers want to be sure that there are no crime records of the person with whom they wish to get their daughter married. With the increasing crime among the youth of the country, RTI has emerged as an easy tool to check the involvement of the probable groom in any illegal activity.
There is no official record of the number of applications filed for such a purpose as the RTI Act does not require giving reasons for seeking the information. However, the policemen involved with providing the replies have pointed to acceptance of the reason by the applicants during informal discussions.