No court relief for Karnataka activist who sought details of fined RTI officials
The Karnataka High Court has dismissed a petition filed by an activist who wanted details of penalties and disciplinary actions against public information officers (PIOs) who failed to provide information under the Right to Information Act. Justice Suraj Govindaraj stated that the Karnataka Information Commission does not keep such records.
The activist, Ramesh Babu N, could not explain the purpose for seeking the information. The court also ruled that the RTI Act should not be abused for "roving/fishing inquiries" into actions taken under Section 20. The activist's lawyer argued that Babu was a "public-spirited person". Section 6(2) of the Act states that applicants are not required to provide reasons for requesting information, except for contact-related information.
The court observed that misuse of the Act by a few people could deny genuine applicants the information they need or cause delays.
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