Kerala High Court Seeks State's Response On Plea To Integrate Regional, District And Village Level Departments Within Online RTI Portal
A plea has been moved before the Kerala High Court seeking to integrate the existing online RTI portal with all regional, district and village-level offices, to enable all citizens, particularly NRIs to submit RTI applications and receive information and documents electronically.
The petition also seeks direction to the government to facilitate digital payment methods like net banking and UPI, instead of requiring individuals to visit Treasury offices in person to make payments for information and document requests.
A division bench of Chief Justice Nitin Jamdar and Justice S Manu directed the Secretary of the General Administration Department to file an affidavit within three weeks regarding the time frame to bring the regional, district and village level offices of the State within the purview of the existing online RTI portal of the State government.
“According to petitioner, in accordance with the direction of Supreme Court in Pravasi Legal Cell v. Union of India & Ors (2023), the regional, district and village level offices should also be brought within the purview of online RTI portal. I find no reason why it should not be so brought in within the purview of online RTI portal. The Learned Government Pleader would take instructions from the Secretary of General Administration Department as to within how much time the regional, district and village level offices of the State can be brought within the existing online RTI portal.”
Notably, the petitioner is the same organization that filed Pravasi Legal Cell (supra), wherein the Apex Court directed all the High Courts and State Governments across the country and their departments to establish online RTI portals to facilitate filing of applications, appeals, and the supply of information electronically. The Apex Court is presently dealing with a contempt petition for non-compliance of its directions.
The plea said, “Despite the express direction of the Hon'ble Supreme Court to all State Governments to establish comprehensive online RTI portals, the State of Kerala has failed to fully comply with this directive. The absence of several departments and its regional offices from the online RTI platform constitutes a clear failure on the part of the Respondents to implement the Supreme Court's mandate effectively.”
As per the present petition, the online RTI portal launched by the State government in 2019 largely remains ineffective since it does not include regional, district and village offices of all departments. The petition states that citizens and NRI's find it difficult to physically access all offices for information. It is also submitted that there is no option for making online payments of fees which compels the persons to go physically to treasury offices for making payment to receive information and documents.
The petition alleges that lack of digital payment methods compels citizens and NRI's to follow the traditional, manual process of filing RTI applications which is both time consuming, inaccessible and cumbersome.
“The lack of a fully functioning online RTI portal adversely affects not only expatriates but also residents within Kerala, particularly those who live in remote areas. It defeats the very purpose of the Right to Information Act, which seeks to promote transparency and accountability in government operations by providing easy access to information. With the current system, the RTI process continues to be plagued by procedural hurdles, bureaucratic inefficiency, and significant delays, thereby denying citizens their fundamental right to access information as guaranteed under the RTI Act.”
The matter has been posted after three weeks.
The plea has been moved by Advocates Manas P Hameed, E.Adithyan, Paul P Abraham, Mariyamma A K, Ipsita Ojal
Case Number: WP(C) 36106/2024
Case Title: Pravasi Legal Cell v State of Kerala & Others