Provide RTI info via email, pen drive: Delhi high court tells Centre

The direction came in response to a petition filed by a law student, who sought the creation of a clear, legally backed framework that would enable RTI applicants to receive information through commonly used and secure modern-day digital platforms

The Delhi high court on Wednesday directed the Union government to evolve a mechanism within three months to facilitate the provision of information to Right to Information (RTI) applicants through modern digital formats such as email and pen drives.

The high court of Delhi. (File Photo)

A bench comprising Chief Justice DK Upadhyay and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela observed that while the Right to Information Act, 2005, and the RTI Rules, 2012, provide a robust framework for ensuring access to information, they fall short of recognising or facilitating the use of contemporary electronic formats. The bench held that this gap undermines the very objective of the Act and called for an urgent overhaul to realise the true spirit and purpose of the RTI regime.

“Thus, a conjoint reading of Section 4(4), which relates to dissemination of material considering various factors, and Section 7(9), which provides for furnishing information in the form requested by the applicant unless it disproportionately diverts resources or endangers the safety or preservation of records, makes it clear that information sought under the RTI Act ought to be provided through all viable electronic modes, including email or pen drive,” the court noted in its order.

However, the bench pointed out that the RTI Rules do not currently accommodate requests for information in these modes. “When we peruse the RTI Rules, what we find is that the said rules do not address the situation where information is sought in a particular mode such as email or pen drive,” the court said.

Emphasising the need for systemic reform, the bench added: “Accordingly, we are of the opinion that an adequate framework may be put in place to make the information seeker realise the true purport of the RTI. We dispose of the writ petition with a direction to the appropriate authority of the Government of India to consider the necessary aspects and take appropriate measures by framing rules or through other means—to ensure that information is provided in the mode in which it is sought, subject to the safeguards in Sections 4(4) and 7(9) of the RTI Act. The consideration and decision shall be taken within a period of three months from today.”

The direction came in response to a petition filed by Akash Chauhan, a law student, who sought the creation of a clear, legally backed framework that would enable RTI applicants to receive information through commonly used and secure modern-day digital platforms.

Chauhan’s plea argued that the current legal provisions continue to rely on outdated and obsolete formats such as diskettes and floppy disks -- technologies that are now defunct. The absence of statutory recognition for prevalent formats such as email, pen drives, compact discs, and cloud-based delivery systems, the petition contended, has frustrated the objective of ensuring timely and effective dissemination of information under the Act.

The petition further highlighted that in the absence of a clear statutory mandate, many PIOs had outrightly refused to provide information in modern formats, citing a lack of enabling provisions, vague concerns over data integrity, or hypothetical risks of virus transmission via pen drives or similar devices.

Chauhan also pointed out that the inadequacy of the current framework disproportionately impacts vulnerable populations such as persons with disabilities, elderly citizens, and individuals residing in remote or rural areas. “For many such applicants, obtaining physical copies of information, often bulky and requiring travel to postal facilities or government offices, is burdensome, costly, and sometimes practically impossible,” the petition stated.