Punjab SIC dismisses 75 RTI appeals by a single appellant for vague, repetitive, and resource-draining queries violating Section 7(9) of the RTI Act.

The Punjab State Information Commission has rendered a landmark ruling in which it dismissed 75 Second Appeals made by a single appellant, Sh. Gurmej Lal of Ludhiana, who sought vague and extensive information from several public entities around the state.

S. Inderpal Singh Dhanna, the chairman of the Punjab State Information Commission, reported that State Information Commissioner Sandeep Singh Dhaliwal noted in his final order that the appellant had been given numerous chances to rephrase his RTI applications in a precise and point-by-point fashion in accordance with the RTI Act, 2005. The appellant did not comply, nonetheless, in spite of many interim orders that gave repeated instructions.

The Commission observed that the appellant’s RTI applications were mostly template-based and contained repetitive, general inquiries that necessitated the collection of copious amounts of data from many ministries in addition to third-party records. It was determined that these demands violated Section 7(9) of the RTI Act, which forbids the release of information that would unnecessarily deplete a public authority’s resources.

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The Commission expressed worry, pointing out that such careless use of the RTI mechanism costs the Public Information Officers’ (PIOs’) offices unnecessary burden and takes up unnecessary time from the Commission. since a result, the RTI Act’s intended spirit of accountability and transparency is undermined since it delays the decision-making of legitimate appeals and lengthens pendency.

According to the Commission, the right to information is a weapon for openness, not for harassment. The information that applicants seek should be precise, unambiguous, and clearly relevant to their grievance or the public interest. The law is being abused by submitting hundreds of ambiguous and onerous applications, which hinders rather than improves the system.

Sh. Sandeep Singh Dhaliwal, the State Information Commissioner, concluded the proceedings by stating that the order should teach RTI applicants to exercise their rights sensibly and prudently while honoring the legal objective and the administrative capabilities of public institutions.