Online RTI Portal Will Be Launched Soon: Supreme Court

On the last occasion, CJI, Justice D.Y. Chandrachud had assured Advocate, Mr. Prashant Bhushan appearing for the petitioner that the process of setting up the concerned mechanism was underway and had posted the matter for hearing after Diwali vacations.

On Friday, as the matter was taken up by a Bench comprising CJI, Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justice Hima Kohli, Mr. Bhushan was informed -

"The portal is completely ready. It would be launched any time now."

After seeking Mr. Bhushan's satisfaction regarding the redressal of his client's grievance, the Bench recorded -

"The online portal is practically ready...In this view the counsel states that the grievance in this petition is met."

The CJI, Chandrachud reckoned -

"You know, it would make our lives easier also if it becomes online…because of the large inflow of correspondence."

He added -

"We will now push the High Courts to also do this, if they have not already done so."

On the last date of hearing, the CJI, Chandrachud had also stated that he would write to the High Courts asking them to follow the mechanism set out by the Apex Court to make information about the courts more accessible to the public at large.

"As Chairperson of the E-committee, I'll also write to the High Courts so that they can follow it."

The PIL, filed by two law students, Akriti Agarwal and Lakshya Purohit sought directions to the respondents including the Supreme Court through its Secretary-General, Supreme Court's E-committee and the National Informatics Centre to set up an online RTI Portal in a time-bound manner. The petition filed through Advocate Neha Rathi has argued that the Supreme Court of India, despite being a "public authority" under Section 2(h) of the Right to Information Act 2005, has not created a portal since the enactment of the RTI Act.

The petition submitted that though an efficient mechanism for e-filing of petitions is now in place, there is no mechanism to e-file RTI application. Representations had been made to the concerned authorities of the Apex Court to create such a portal, but it has not fructified. It argues that the concerned authority's inaction is causing delay and denying access to speedy information and justice.

"In the current pandemic COVID-19, the entire nation has been constrained in terms of physical movement and accessing post offices for filing of RTI Applications. This is acting as a serious hurdle in accessing information and access to justice and leads to violation of fundamental rights of the citizens, guaranteed under Article 19(1)(a) & Article 21 respectively of the Constitution of India," the plea states.

The petition cites the Supreme Court's order in the case of Pravasi Legal Cell v. Union of India And Ors. saying that the Court has recognised the legal mandate of Online RTI Portal for State Governments and also issued notice dated 26.08.2019.

In September, 2022, a Bench led by Chief Justice U.U. Lalit dismissed a similar petition. The PIL sought directions to the respondents including the Supreme Court through its Secretary-General, Supreme Court's E-committee and the National Informatics Centre to set up an online RTI Portal in a time-bound manner and argued that the Supreme Court of India, despite being a "public authority" under Section 2(h) of the Right to Information Act 2005, had not created such a portal since the enactment of the RTI Act.

At the outset, CJI Lalit remarked that–

"This is the brief which the E-committee of the Supreme Court is looking into. These are rights which definitely flow in favour of somebody but that is the technical advancement which is being undertaken by the courts all over the country. It is a process which is going on. Perhaps, I think, in the process, 0-100, you cannot achieve that progress in one go. Therefore, we are marching in the direction. These kind of petitions, this is a good exercise, good research but we cannot entertain it."

Accordingly, the bench passed the following order–

"Considering the nature of the relief that is being prayed for, in our view the proceedings initiated under Article 32 of the Indian Constitution may not be the appropriate remedy. We therefore, refuse to entertain this petition. Consequently, the petition stands dismissed."

[Case Title: Akriti Agarwal And Anr. v. SCI And Ors. WP(C) No. 107/2022]