Bhubaneswar: In a rare and precedent-setting move, the Odisha Information Commission (OIC) has barred a Puri district resident from filing new Right to Information (RTI) applications for one year, citing “abuse of the RTI process.”
The decision, delivered by State Information Commissioner Susanta Kumar Mohanty on Saturday, comes after it was found that the applicant, Chittaranjan Sethy of Satapuri village under Nimapara block, had flooded public offices with repetitive and burdensome queries.
Records show that Sethy filed 61 cases in 2023 alone against the Meteipur Gram Panchayat and the Nimapara Block office, often demanding month-wise and year-wise details of income, expenditure, and development works. The Commission noted that despite receiving responses and opportunities to inspect documents, Sethy continued filing repetitive applications.
Evidence presented during hearings revealed that while Sethy inspected records at the Nimapara Block office on July 22, 2025, he failed to appear for a scheduled inspection at the Gram Panchayat two days later. The Commission further highlighted that as of June 30, 2025, he has 383 cases pending before the SIC.
Finding this pattern to be “intended to harass rather than serve any genuine public interest,” the Commission dismissed all 61 pending cases from 2023 and imposed strict curbs on Sethy’s future use of the Act.
Key directives include:
- A one-year ban on filing new RTI applications.
- A cap of 12 RTI applications per year across all public authorities.
- Mandatory affidavits disclosing the number of applications filed annually.
- Verification of his Below Poverty Line (BPL) card used to seek fee exemptions.
- A state-wide advisory to departments to reject repetitive or burdensome queries from him under Section 7(9) of the RTI Act.
Quoting past Supreme Court and High Court rulings, the order stressed that the RTI Act, though vital for transparency, cannot be exploited for “indiscriminate and impractical demands.” It added: “No institution dedicated to democracy can agree to the disproportionate/uncontrolled use of such a sacred Act.”
Legal experts say the ruling could become a reference point for dealing with vexatious RTI misuse while reaffirming citizens’ right to information in genuine cases.
