Order to blacklist RTI activist revoked.

Times of India: Ahmedabad: Sunday, January 09, 2022.

The court of the regional commissioner of municipalities, Vadodara, has endorsed the assertion that there is no provision to blacklist an applicant who seeks information under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. The court has directed the Padra nagarpalika to scrap its resolution to blacklist a person from filing any RTI applications.

The order, passed on December 31, 2021, asked the Padra nagarpalika to revoke its resolution dated April 28, 2021, through which Paresh Gandhi was blacklisted by the nagapalika. Gandhi had earlier filed several RTI applications, seeking information on various civic works being taken up by the municipality.

Gandhi, however, did not give in and wrote to the chief information commissioner of the Central Information Commission, the Gujarat chief information commissioner’s office, the general administration department (GAD), and the governor’s office. He asked whether there was any provision to blacklist an RTI applicant. “I received a reply that there was no provision to blacklist an RTI applicant and the matter was referred to the regional commissioner of municipalities,” Gandhi said. “I am happy that an order has been passed in my favour.”

Mahiti Adhikar Gujarat Pahel secretary said that while there is no provision to blacklist applicants under the , this is a landmark order. “It will have a positive impact on the movement to seek information using the RTI Act,” she said