SC notice to Centre on compliance of RTI clause on info- sharing

The Supreme Court on Friday sought an explanation from the central government on why Section 4 of the Right to Information Act was not being implemented in right earnest, a charge levelled in a PIL filed in the top court.

A bench led by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul issued a notice to the government on the PIL filed by Agra-based advocate and RTI activist Kishan Chand Jain.

The PIL claimed that Section 4(2) casts an obligation on public servants to share all information that they hold as part of their official duties with the public, but that is rarely given effect to.


Failure to abide by this mandate would reduce the law into an ornamental piece of legislation, the PIL charged. The petitioner sought a court order specifically directing that the mandate of Section 4(2) be implemented.

Section 4(2) of the Act tasks public servants with the job of disseminating the information that they have with the public on social media so that they are not forced to file RTI applications seeking the information.The petition cited CIC reports to suggest poor compliance with the section.

The bench, which also included Justice MM Sundresh, also directed that this plea come up along with another filed by the Pravasi Legal Cell, seeking online portals for NRIs seeking information under the RTI.