The order, many RTI activists termed weird, was handed by Susanta Kumar Mohanty, a profession journalist who turned State Information Commissioner (SIC) in 2023. Photo: X/@susantamohanty
The order, many RTI activists termed weird, was handed by Susanta Kumar Mohanty, a profession journalist who turned State Information Commissioner (SIC) in 2023.
In his order SIC Mr. Mohanty identified that appellant one, Chittaranjan Sethy, had filed quite a few appeals and complaints beneath the RTI Act, 2005, looking for a variety of knowledge from numerous public authorities throughout Odisha, that are pending for adjudication on this Commission.
“Out of the instances filed by the appellant on this Commission, 61 (35 second appeals and 26 complaints) instances within the yr 2023 have been listed for listening to earlier than this bench and are being taken up collectively and disposed of by the use of a standard order,” stated the SIC.
The info commissioner stated functions have been repetitive in nature and burdensome for public authorities.
“The widespread appellant or complainant has primarily sought info concerning improvement work, revenue, expenditure and different works by repeatedly submitting of functions from Nimapara Block and gram panchayat. The info was requested month clever and year-wise individually from the general public info officer of Meteipur panchayat and Nimapara block in Puri district. Upon assessment of those functions it was discovered that the identical have been repetitive in nature and burdensome putting pointless stress on public assets,” Mr. Mohanty noticed.
“The applicant Mr. Sethy is debarred from submitting any additional RTI functions within the Commission, for a interval of 1 yr with rapid impact, from the date of pronouncement of this order,” the SIC directed.
Moreover, the Commission capped the variety of functions the applicant can file beneath the RTI Act earlier than public authorities. Mr. Sethy can file a most of 12 functions beneath the RTI Act earlier than numerous public authorities in a calendar yr.
The SIC order says evaluation revealed the applicant had sought info indiscriminately with repetition of knowledge from Meteipur panchayat.
“According to 2011 census, the Meteipur panchayat has 250 homes with inhabitants of 1250. The applicant has filed 61 instances with the panchayat within the yr 2023. Thus it’s assumed that he filed greater than 5 functions on a mean in a month utilizing his Below Poverty Line card,” he identified.
The SIC additional famous, “it’s seen that a lot of the RTI functions are repetitive and seems to harass the general public authorities fairly than serve any real public curiosity, which establishes clear abuse of RTI act. Further it’s seen that at the moment 383 variety of instances as on June 30, 2025 have been filed by this applicant, and the identical are pending earlier than the State Information Commission, Odisha.”
“The applicant claims to be investigating corruption throughout the Panchayat Samiti beneath Nimapara Block. However, his method doesn’t affirm to the right and lawful procedures for addressing such grievances,” Mr. Mohanty remarked.
“Why was Mr. Sethy compelled to file so many attraction instances? Because, he was denied info by PIO within the first place. The SIC as an alternative of imposing nice on PIO for sharing info to the applicant went in for issuing a ban. This is horrible state of affairs in Odisha,” stated Pradip Pradhan, convenor of Odisha Sochana Adhikar Abhiyan (OSAA), a discussion board of RTI activists.
Mr. Pradhan additionally identified, “as per spirit of RTI Act, the Commission ought to have sympathetically heard the applicant as to why he had filed so many attraction petitions. However, Commission selected to facet with public authorities who defaulted in sharing info.”
The OSAA convenor stated the Act didn’t have provision to penalise RTI candidates the place because the Commission ought to maintain public authorities accountable for denial of knowledge.
Published – September 14, 2025 03:14 am IST
