The Odisha state information commission has barred an applicant from filing any RTI applications before the commission for one year.
The unprecedented order came into effect on Saturday.
“The Commission concludes that the applicant’s conduct is an abuse of the RTI process. His act is a clear indication of misuse. No doubt the applicant, being a citizen of India, has the right to get information under the RTI Act, 2005, but he or she is also duty-bound to obey the law of the land and procedure. Keeping in view the facts mentioned above, the applicant deserves to be dealt with in a strict manner. Accordingly, the following orders are passed,” commissioner Susanta Kumar Mohanty wrote in his order.
The applicant’s alleged fault was filing multiple RTI pleas seeking information on various works relating to his panchayat in Puri district, which the commission termed as contrary to the “spirit of RTI.”
The commission has, however, allowed him to seek information from different public authorities but restricted the number of applications. “Following the principle of natural justice, the Commission hereby gives liberty to the applicant to file a maximum of twelve (12) applications under the RTI Act before various public authorities in a calendar year from the date of this order. In each application submitted after this date, the applicant shall file an affidavit indicating the number of applications already filed,” the order states.
The complainant, Chittaranjan Sethy, 51, had filed 61 RTI cases in 2023 relating to development work, income, expenditure and other projects of Nimapara block and its gram panchayats. The commissioner noted that Sethy had filed more than five applications on average per month, using his (below poverty line) BPL card, often seeking month-wise and year-wise data. “Upon review of these applications, it was found that they were repetitive in nature and burdensome, placing unnecessary stress on public resources,” Mohanty observed.
Mohanty, however, claimed to be investigating corruption in the Panchayat Samiti under Nimapara block. “His approach does not conform to proper and lawful procedures for addressing such grievances,” the commissioner added.
RTI activist Pradeep Pradhan strongly criticised the order. He told The Telegraph: “After the complainant has made it clear that he has got the information and indicates to close the case, the commission should not have passed such an order. The commission does not have the power to penalise a person. The complainant hails from Mateipur Panchayat of Nimapara block. The rampant corruption there disturbed him and that is why he was filing RTIs. Since he is not well-versed with RTI procedures, he filed repetitively. Being less educated, he did not realise the technical rules. But you cannot debar him.”
Sethy, 51, a farmer educated up to Class VII, told this paper: “After I received training on RTI, I decided to fight corruption. I have little idea about the official procedure. Is it a crime to ask for information? I still have not received a satisfactory reply about the construction of the Kotha Ghar (committee centre) in my village. I am a Dalit and will challenge the commissioner’s order in the High Court.”
He added: “I only wanted transparency. I never intended to harass anyone. If they deny information, how else can I seek accountability?”