The Delhi High Court on Wednesday gave the Central government three months' time to frame rules for providing information under the Right to Information Act (RTI Act) in electronic form,while ensuring that appropriate safety measures are in place.
A Division Bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela observed that the existing RTI Rules do not address the situation where the information is sought in a particular mode, such as by email or pen drive.Highlighting a gap in the current RTI Rules, a division bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela stated that the need for providing information in the format sought by applicants, such as email or pen drives, while ensuring proper safeguards.
The Bench said that an adequate framework is required to ensure that the information seeker realises the true purport of the rights under the RTI Act. The Court emphasised that existing rules do not account for present-day digital preferences, which can limit accessibility and defeat the spirit of the RTI Act, 2005. The judges instructed the appropriate authority to evaluate the issue and make a decision within three months.
“We dispose of the petition with the directions to the appropriate department in the Union of India to consider these aspects and take appropriate measures by framing rules to ensure that information as sought is given to the seeker in the mode sought with adequate safety measures as per the RTI provisions. In consideration of this issue, a decision shall be taken by the Government of India within three months,” the Court said.
The directions came in response to a petition filed by two law students, who argued that RTI procedures continue to reference outdated formats, such as diskettes and floppies. They urged that information delivery should reflect current technology, including cloud platforms and secure email transfers.The plea also requested clear provisions for modern digital payment methods, such as UPI, net banking, and credit cards, to make the RTI process more user-friendly.
The Court was dealing with a public interest litigation (PIL) petition filed by one Aditya Chauhan seeking a direction to the Central government to provide RTI information in modern and electronic mode. It was argued that even though the RTI Act allows for providing details in electronic form, the Public Information Officers (PIOs) and other authorities are not disclosing the information through email or on pen drives.
After considering the case, the Court noted that while the RTI Act says that the right to information includes the right to receive the said information in electronic mode, the RTI Rules lack the requisite framework for it.
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