The UP and Delhi High Courts are charging 50 times more than the amount being charged by the Centre and a majority of states from a person seeking information under the Right to Information (
RTI) Act.
While the Centre and most states have fixed the fee at Rs 10, the two HCs have been charging information-seekers Rs 500, virtually denying the poor the information they need.
The exorbitant fee has left the UP State Information Commission and Central Information Commission (
CIC) fuming. They are demanding amendment to the
RTI Act to bring in uniformity in the fee structure.
The present
RTI gives states and the judiciary right to determine their own fees.
“This is virtual denial of information. It is against the spirit of the
RTI. I've taken it up with the
CIC,” says UP Information Commissioner Justice (retired) M A Khan who is in Delhi to participate in the first three-day convention of the
CIC.
In its rules formulated on
RTI, the Delhi HC says an information seeker will have to pay Rs 500 per application for information on all matters other than quasi-judicial and administrative. For the quasi-judicial and administration information, which will be available only to the affected persons, the fee has been pegged at Rs 50 per application. The court has also specified speed money (Rs 10 per page) for persons who want pages of information urgently.