The Wire: Mumbai:
Monday, 09 March 2020.
As
a testament to the fact that seeking information under the Right to Information
Act has grown more difficult, the Mehsana civil court has demanded an
applicant’s proof of citizenship to disburse information that he sought from
the court under provisions of the Act.
According
to Times of India, on February 24, a resident of Savgadh village in Sabarkantha
district, Mohyuddin Fakir had sought documents from the Mehsana court regarding
various notifications pertaining to revenue in Kadi block of Mehsana district.
Instead
of providing him with information, the court’s public information officer, K.H.
Dohre, replied that Fakir would require to furnish evidence of his Indian
citizenship to get his RTI request processed further.
No
such information is required to be furnished under the Act.
In
fact, Rule 6 (2) of the Act states that an applicant making request for
information shall not be required to give any reason for requesting the
information or any other personal details except those that may be necessary
for contacting him.
Unlike
the general RTI rules, applications made to the judicial offices have special
rules and a different range of fees. Like in the case of the Gujarat high court
RTI rules, instead of the usual Rs 20 stamp worth, applicant is mandated to
paste a Rs 50-stamp. Faqir, however, had only pasted a Rs 20 stamp and the PIO
had written back asking for an additional stamp worth Rs 30 to have the
application processed.
Along
with the requisite fee, the PIO told the applicant that Rule 7 of a Gujarat
government notification published in March 22, 2010 gazette requires “declaration
on part of the applicant that he is an Indian citizen, which you have not
declared in your application. Therefore, supply the proof of your being an
Indian citizen along with the requisite fee. On completion of your application,
your application will be processed further”.
Both
RTI Act’s rules and the Gujarat high court’s rule for applicants don’t seek
information about the applicant’s citizenship.
This
is not the first time an individual’s citizenship proof was demanded to provide
information under the Act. According to a report in Hindustan Times, the
Lucknow University (LU) too has asked an RTI activist to submit proof of
citizenship to get information under RTI Act.
The
Central Information Commission has already, in its 2014 order, said that the
PIO will have to give reasons for doubting the applicant’s citizenship in case
of denial of information. However, at the district level, the practice of
asking for applicant’s citizenship proof continues.
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