RTI pleas seeking similar information will be rejected: CIC

Times of India: New Delhi: Saturday, July 12, 2014.

Repeated RTI applications seeking similar information could be grounds for rejecting it, the Central Information Commission has said.

"The citizens have no right to repeat the same or similar or slightly altered information request under the RTI Act, 2005, for which he already got a response," the Commission said.

Information Commissioner M Sridhar Acharyulu said once an RTI application is answered the appellants shall refrain themselves from filing another RTI application against the public authority "...as once information is received and held by them or posted in public domain, because such information is deemed to have ceased to be 'held' by the public authority," he said basing his arguments on the observations given by previous information commissioners and objectives of the RTI Act.

Dismissing the appeals of an RTI applicant Nitesh Tripathi who was repeatedly seeking "information which are highly voluminous," Acharyulu said the first appellate authority (within the department) and Commission may be right and reasonable to consider this as a ground for rejecting the first or second appeal, respectively among other reasons.

"An applicant or appellant repeating the RTI application or appeal either once or multiple times, suppressing the fact of earlier application and receipt of the answer, the CPIO of the public authority may reject it forthwith after intimating it along with reasons," he said.

Tripathi had filed a number of RTI applications to various authorities in the health department and hospitals seeking details on several issues.

The data submitted by these authorities showed Tripathi had filed at least 12 applications every year at directorate of health services, 17 at department of health and family welfare, 62 to Hedgyan Arogya Sansthan, 200 applications at the rate of 30-31 applications per day at Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital, 100 at Acharya Bhikshu Hospital of which CIC decided in 16 cases on the same issue among others.

The information commissioner said applications filed by Tripathi are "wide-ranging requiring lot of effort by authorities to collect the voluminous information which is difficult to be answered in one go''.

"The Commission considers this case as the case of repetitive use of RTI assuming the proportion of harassment to the public authority and reckless abuse of RTI," Acharyulu said in his order.