Law Student Alleges Threat for Filing RTI

Indian Express: Chennai: Friday, April 24, 2015.

The Madras High Court on Thursday directed the police to conduct an enquiry in connection with a petition moved by a law student, alleging death threats and verbal abuse through repeated phone calls.

H B Saravana Kumar (24)  submitted that he filed an RTI application seeking certain details about PWD official G Parthiban from East Police Station Thanjavur. The next morning, he received a phone call from Velayudham, a sub-inspector attached to the station, who enquired about the information sought by him. Thereafter, Saravana Kumar received several phone calls from a person claiming to be Parthiban. He abused Kumar stating that he was close to a High Court judge and several advocates.

Kumar alleged that Parthiban threatened to kill him for seeking information through RTI. He then filed a complaint with the inspector of police, High Court Police Station. The police, without registering an FIR, provided a Community Service Receipt.

Alleging that despite the complaint being a cognizable offence, the police had failed to investigate it, Kumar sought the court to issue directions to the police to register a case and investigate it. When the matter came up before Justice P N Prakash, Kumar submitted the recorded conversation of the alleged threats.