Delhi HC warns against abuse of Right to Information Act

The Delhi High Court has expressed concern over the increasing misuse of the Right to Information Act, 2005, stating that it has observed cases leading to "paralysis and fear" among the government officials.

Justice Subramonium Prasad said that while the Act aims to provide secure access to information and ensure accountability, its abuse undermines its intended purpose.

The court's remarks came during the hearing of a plea by Shishir Chand challenging a Central Information Commission (CIC) order restricting further cases related to the alleged medical negligence of Dr. Atul Chhabra at Tata Memorial Hospital.

The CIC deemed Chand's repeated attempts to reopen the issue as an abuse of the RTI process.

Justice Prasad said that the petitioner was attempting to extract information already settled by judicial orders. Despite acknowledging Chand's repeated misuse, the court held that a citizen's right to claim information under the RTI Act cannot be extinguished, and there is no provision for imposing costs for seeking information repeatedly.

The court partially allowed the writ petition, setting aside the portion of the CIC's order that restricted Chand from filing further cases on the same subject matter.

While sympathetic to the petitioner's situation, the court advised against abusing the legal process and diluting the Act's objective.