Cooperative Society Cannot Deny RTI Information To Member As 'Personal' If Registrar Can Access Such Records : Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Monday (October 26) held that a member of a cooperative society cannot be denied information about the affairs of the cooperative society under the Right to Information Act, 2005 merely because the cooperative society doesn't come under the ambit of 'public authority'. “…a Member of the Society cannot be denied such information on the ground that it is personal to...

Records Of Prime Minister's Foreign Travel In IAF Aircraft Exempt From RTI : Delhi High Court Sets Aside CIC Order

The Delhi High Court has held that details of the Special Flight Returns (SFR-II) relating to the foreign visits of the Prime Minister of India in the aircraft of the Indian Air Force cannot be disclosed under the Right to Information (RTI) Act if such disclosure could compromise national security or endanger the Prime Minister's life and physical...

DVAC Not Exempt From Sharing Information Relating To Corruption And Human Rights Violations Under RTI Act: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court recently held that the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption is not exempt under the Right to Information Act from sharing information relating to corruption and human rights violations. [2026 LiveLaw (Mad) 499] Justice Hemant Chandanagoudar noted that though the DVAC was exempted from the RTI Act, by way of a...

Public Authorities Can't Shift Burden To Citizens: Karnataka High Court Directs Information Commission To Maintain RTI Implementation Data

The Karnataka High Court has issued a slew of directions to the State Information Commission to prescribe a uniform format for the collection, maintenance and disclosure of information relating to the implementation of the RTI Act by public authorities in the State. The petitioner an RTI applicant had sought names of the Public Information Officer...

CIC Could Not Have Directed Suo-Motu Disclosure Of PM Modi's Degree, Outside Scope Of RTI Act: Gujarat High Court

Court further held that Arvind Kejriwal should not have used RTI proceedings for political motives.

Karnataka High Court Censures RTI Applicants For Filing Thousands Of Pleas, Says RTI Must Not Be Filed 'For The Sake Of It'

The Karnataka High Court on Monday (September 28) censured several RTI applicants challenging their blacklisting by the Karnataka Information Commission (KIC), after the Commission submitted that some petitioners had filed thousands of RTI applications and appeals, including one petitioner who had allegedly filed around 20,000 applications over...

Day An RTI Reply Becomes Criminal Act

The Right to Information Act, 2005 rests on a simple democratic principle: a citizen has the right to know what the State is doing, how it is doing it and what records it holds. The Public Information Officer is not merely an administrative intermediary in this process. He is the statutory officer through whom that right is implemented. His...

RTI Applicant's Claim That Information Would Help Pending Civil Litigation Can't Override Third-Party Exemption: P&H High Court

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has dismissed a writ petition challenging the Punjab State Information Commission's refusal to furnish RTI information relating to an FIR, holding that an applicant's claim that the information would assist him in pending civil litigation does not, by itself, establish the larger public interest necessary to...

RTI Applicant Can't Directly Seek CCTV Footage Covered By Section 8(1)(g), May Approach Court/Commission: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court has held that CCTV footage sought under the Right to Information Act, 2005 cannot be supplied directly to the applicant when it is covered by the exception contained in Section 8(1)(g) of the Act. It held that a Court or Commission has the power to call for such footage and to direct its preservation, and may do so once the...

RTI Act | Chhattisgarh High Court Quashes ₹25K RTI Penalty, Says Mala Fide Intent Must Be Established For Action

The Chhattisgarh High Court has held that imposition of penalty under Section 20 of the Right to Information Act, 2005 requires a categorical finding that the information was withheld due to the deliberate and mala fide acts of the Public Information Officer. The Court accordingly set aside a ₹25,000 penalty imposed on a Public Information Officer,...

University Can't Levy Internal Fee For Answer Scripts Sought By Student Under RTI Act: CIC

The Central Information Commission (CIC) has held that a University cannot impose internal fee for proving copies of answer script, when the information was sought by the student under the Right to Information Act, 2005.Information Commissioner Sudha Rani Relangi was dealing with the appeal preferred by a student of Patharkandi College affiliated...

Public Authority Not Obliged To Collect Information From Private Body To Furnish To An Applicant: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has held that a public authority is not under an obligation under the RTI Act to obtain information from a private body to satisfy an applicant seeking information. The Court further held that while the public authority is required to furnish the information held by it at the point in time when the request is made, the RTI Act...