A-Diary copies of civil and criminal proceedings cannot be obtained under RTI Act: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court recently held that copies of ‘A' diary of civil and criminal postings of cases relates to judicial proceedings and an application for the same cannot be entertained under the RTI Act. [MP Chothy v Registrar General & Ors.].Justice Murali Purushothaman held that copies of A-diary of criminal and civil proceedings can be obtained by filing applications under the relevant Rules of Practice, but not under RTI Act.“These provisions regarding application for copies under the Rules of Practice in the Subordinate Courts are almost in pari materia with Rule 128 and 129 of the Rules of the High Court of Kerala, 1971 framed under Article 225 of the Constitution of India. The copies of ''A' diary of civil and criminal postings of the cases' can be obtained by the petitioner on filing applications under the relevant Rules of Practice,” the judgment stated..The judgment was passed on a petition moved by one advocate MP Chothy, a retired Class I officer who is currently practicing as a lawyer.Chothy had made an application under the RTI Act, before the Public Information Officer (PIO), District Court, Ernakulam seeking copies of ''A' diary of civil and criminal postings of the cases for the period from December 2021 to April 2022.However, the PIO rejected the application stating that the information sought can be obtained by submitting copy application and besides, that information is available in the website of the Court, the Court notice board, and on the Kiosk of the District Court.The petitioner was further informed that since the 'A' diary is part of court proceedings, the matter was brought to the notice of the concerned judge and the application was rejected on the ground that it is not possible to give such information in terms of Sections 2.8(V), 3(a) and 8B (sic) of the RTI Act.The petitioner then approached the appellate authority seeking the same relief. However, the Appellate Authority too rejected the appeal stating that the information sought by the petitioner relates to judicial proceedings and that the High Court, as per Rule 12 of the Right to Information (Subordinate Courts and Tribunals) Rules, 2006, has directed all subordinate courts in the State that no information relating to any judicial proceedings shall be disclosed under the RTI Act..Aggrieved by the decision of the PIO and the order of the Appellate Authority, the petitioner approached the High Court.The petitioner also sought quashing of Rule 12 of the Rules contending that the said provision is in violation of the fundamental right of the petitioner guaranteed under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India and the provisions of the RTI Act..The Court referred to the apex court judgement in Chief Information Commissioner v High Court of Gujarat & Anr. and ruled that the copies of ''A' diary of civil and criminal postings of the cases requested by the petitioner relate to judicial proceedings and such application for information cannot be entertained under the Rules..“The Apex Court in the Chief Information Commissioner v. High Court of Gujarat and another has held that when the information can be obtained through the mechanism provided under the rules made by the High Court, the said mechanism should be preserved and followed and the provisions of the RTI Act shall not be resorted to. Since the copies of ''A' diary of civil and criminal postings of the cases' can be obtained by the petitioner on filing applications under the Rules of Practice, the provisions of the RTI Act shall not be resorted,” the judgment stated..[Read Judgment]