Bangalore Mirror: Bangalore: Thursday, 30 January 2025.
State Information Commission blacklists RTI activists who filed thousands of appeals ‘without any purpose’
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In a first, the State
Information Commission has cracked the whip on activists filing thousands of applications
or appeals seeking information without any purpose, as this has only ended up
adding to the backlog.
The purpose of the Right to Information Act is to empower citizens to promote transparency and
accountability in the working of the government. Citizens can seek and obtain information pertaining to the government under the RTI Act but they should not become a hurdle for the State Information Commission.
There are more than 50,000 applications or appeals pending with the Commission, which compelled it to organise a special drive to clear the backlog. During the special drive, the State Chief Information Commissioner found that around 30 applicants had filed thousands of appeals. “Around 30 RTI activists are ruling the roost by filing thousands of appeals thus causing a lot of inconvenience to senior citizens who also sought information. We have to allocate most of the time to clear the appeals filed by the RTI activists. We have blacklisted around 20 RTI activists, who are found misusing the State Information Commission by filing thousands of appeals,’’ said State Chief Information Commissioner Dr HC Sathyan.
The Chief Information Commissioner said he was forced to conduct special sessions for senior citizens who filed appeals.
According to the documents available with Bangalore Mirror, the State Chief Information Commissioner has blacklisted the following RTI activists. Shekhar S, who filed 1,103 second appeals, and 541 of those appeals were disposed of in Court Hall No. 2 and a penalty of Rs 5,41,000 was imposed on him. Manjunath AN filed 1,479 second appeals and 407 applications were disposed of and a penalty of Rs 4,07,000 was imposed on him. BS Ramesh (611 appeals) was penalised for Rs 1,77,00. Satish K (Rs 2,15,000), CP Thippeswamy (Rs 2,81,000), Rangaswamy (Rs 2,59,000), V Ramakrishnappa (Rs 2,02,000), Mohan BL (Rs 2,61,000), M Jagadish (Rs 2,31,000), and SS Venkatesh (Rs 1,38,000).
“I have followed the norms and the judgements of honourable courts while blacklisting and penalising those who were found misusing the State Information Commission or the RTI Act. I imposed a Rs 1,000 penalty on each application filed without any purpose. The government has been spending a lot of money on the State Information Commission every year. The Commission is ready to help genuine RTI applicants but not those with vested interest,’’ the State Chief Commissioner said.
He said some of the applicants have been trying to pressurise him to withdraw the penalty imposed on them. “They began threatening me for blacklisting them but I am not ready to succumb to pressure. The revenue authorities will have to attach their immovable property if they fail to pay the penalty,’’ he said.
State Information Commission blacklists RTI activists who filed thousands of appeals ‘without any purpose’
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The purpose of the Right to Information Act is to empower citizens to promote transparency and
accountability in the working of the government. Citizens can seek and obtain information pertaining to the government under the RTI Act but they should not become a hurdle for the State Information Commission.
There are more than 50,000 applications or appeals pending with the Commission, which compelled it to organise a special drive to clear the backlog. During the special drive, the State Chief Information Commissioner found that around 30 applicants had filed thousands of appeals. “Around 30 RTI activists are ruling the roost by filing thousands of appeals thus causing a lot of inconvenience to senior citizens who also sought information. We have to allocate most of the time to clear the appeals filed by the RTI activists. We have blacklisted around 20 RTI activists, who are found misusing the State Information Commission by filing thousands of appeals,’’ said State Chief Information Commissioner Dr HC Sathyan.
The Chief Information Commissioner said he was forced to conduct special sessions for senior citizens who filed appeals.
According to the documents available with Bangalore Mirror, the State Chief Information Commissioner has blacklisted the following RTI activists. Shekhar S, who filed 1,103 second appeals, and 541 of those appeals were disposed of in Court Hall No. 2 and a penalty of Rs 5,41,000 was imposed on him. Manjunath AN filed 1,479 second appeals and 407 applications were disposed of and a penalty of Rs 4,07,000 was imposed on him. BS Ramesh (611 appeals) was penalised for Rs 1,77,00. Satish K (Rs 2,15,000), CP Thippeswamy (Rs 2,81,000), Rangaswamy (Rs 2,59,000), V Ramakrishnappa (Rs 2,02,000), Mohan BL (Rs 2,61,000), M Jagadish (Rs 2,31,000), and SS Venkatesh (Rs 1,38,000).
“I have followed the norms and the judgements of honourable courts while blacklisting and penalising those who were found misusing the State Information Commission or the RTI Act. I imposed a Rs 1,000 penalty on each application filed without any purpose. The government has been spending a lot of money on the State Information Commission every year. The Commission is ready to help genuine RTI applicants but not those with vested interest,’’ the State Chief Commissioner said.
He said some of the applicants have been trying to pressurise him to withdraw the penalty imposed on them. “They began threatening me for blacklisting them but I am not ready to succumb to pressure. The revenue authorities will have to attach their immovable property if they fail to pay the penalty,’’ he said.
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