Delhi HC amends its rules for information seekers under RTI

Putting its own house in order, the Delhi High Court has amended its rules for information seekers recently under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

Considering the letter written to them by a RTI aspirant, the HC amended its rules and changed the fee structure to nominal as prescribed by the RTI rules.

The HC not only informed the RTI aspirant about the changes but also have notified in the official gazette.

RTI activist Anoop Prakash, in his letter to the High Court, pointed out several rules framed by them under the transparency law which, according to him, were inconsistent with the Right To Information Act.

He said the court was levying exorbitant fees on each application for providing information besides accepting the fees only by way of cash.

He said the mode of payment and the timing (1100 hrs to 1300 hrs) for accepting application had virtually limited the scope of filing application, which was ‘inconsistent with the objects of the transparency of law’.

The Court took into consideration its errors and made the amendments in the Delhi High Court RTI Rules, 2006. It has also been notified and published in the Delhi gazette, the High Court Registry said.

The HC will now permit the information seekers to pay fees by way of Demand Drafts, Banker’s Cheques and Indian Postal Orders, in addition to payment by cash.

The timing to file the application has also been allowed from 1100 hrs to 1700 hrs by the Court.