JOIN USThe Delhi High Court’s ruling that an applicant who seeks information under the Right to Information (RTI) Act should disclose his or her interest in it is unfortunate and will further weaken the transparency law in its practice. The court said this is necessary to establish the bona fides of the applicant, and non-disclosure could result in injustice to persons connected to those about whom information is sought. The ruling was given on a petition where an applicant had sought information about some appointments made in the Rashtrapati Bhawan, specifically the names of the fathers of those who got the jobs. During the proceedings, it came to be known that the petitioner’s daughter was an applicant for the job. The court said that the information sought by the petitioner was personal and he did not give his reason for seeking it.
The petitioner’s non-disclosure of his interest cannot be said to take away his right to information and to extinguish the State’s responsibility to give it to him. The court’s ruling is not in agreement with the letter and spirit of the RTI Act. Section 6(2) of the Act clearly says that an applicant making a request for information is not required to give any reason for doing so. There are also rulings from the Supreme Court and other High Courts to the effect that motives and reasons for seeking information are not relevant in a decision on the matter. A five-judge bench of the Supreme Court said in the CJI office case that “an information applicant need not provide any reason for the information sought.’’ Former Central Information Commissioner Shailesh Gandhi has also supported this view and said that since the right to information is a fundamental right, it cannot be constrained by the conditionality of disclosure of motive. He thinks that if citizens have to give reasons and establish bona fides to seek information, it is like asking them to give reasons for speaking and publishing.
It is surprising that the court has issued this order when the position has been made clear by many past rulings. The scope of the RTI has expanded in the past 15 years and it has got strengthened also. Courts have done much for this. At the same time, governments have tried to weaken RTI in many ways. There may have been cases of misuse of the right but that does not in any way reduce its value and importance. The Madras High Court had once made a ruling that required reasons to be given for seeking information but later recanted that part of the ruling. The Delhi High Court’s order is not in accord with this and other judicial views.