Delhi High Court gives Central government 3 months to frame rules to provide RTI info on email, pen drives

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 [Aditya Chauhan & Anr v Union of India & Anr]. 

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.

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. 

“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 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.

Therefore, it ordered the government to frame the rules required.