HC strikes down parts of OIC order debarring RTI applicant from commission

Cuttack: The Orissa high court has struck down key portions of an order passed by the Odisha Information Commission (OIC) that had barred RTI applicant Chittaranjan Sethy from approaching the commission for a year, observing that such restrictions were not legally sustainable.Disposing of a writ petition filed by Sethy on Jan 15, Justice R K Pattanaik examined OIC’s Sept 13, 2025, order, which had debarred Sethy for allegedly indulging in “abuse of the RTI process”. The order was uploaded on Jan 19. The commission had cited the filing of numerous RTI appeals and complaints across departments, claiming it led to wastage of public resources and administrative time.OIC had clubbed and dismissed 61 cases filed by Sethy in 2023 through a common order. Along with debarring him from the commission for a year, it had also restricted him to filing only 12 RTI applications in a calendar year before various public authorities.After scrutinising the applications and the nature of information sought, the high court noted that the entire information had not been furnished to the petitioner. The court held that, barring the information already supplied, the remaining information must be provided in accordance with the RTI Act.Justice Pattanaik also took exception to the limits imposed by the commission, holding that the restriction on filing applications before the commission and the cap of 12 RTI applications per year were not legally sustainable. The court observed that the commission “could not have imposed such a restriction on the petitioner” merely because he was in the habit of filing multiple RTI applications. The court disposed of the petition and directed the authorities to supply the balance information. As a consequence, OIC’s Sept 13, 2025, order was set aside to the extent it imposed the impugned restrictions.