Officer Cannot Refuse To Provide Information Under RTI Act Just Because Its Voluminous: High Court

The High Court said that an officer cannot refuse to provide information under the Right to Information Act (RTI Act) on the ground that the information sought is too voluminous. Justice Subramaniam Prasad said that if the court accepts this argument then it will become another exemption falling within the ambit of immunity. The information sought by the applicant does not fall within the scope of any exemption contained in Section 8 of the Act.

The only reason given by the respondent Indian Institute of Foreign Trade RTI for not giving the information is that the information is very voluminous. It is not possible for him to provide the requested information. The person seeking the information had challenged it in the Central Information Commission (CIC) which was accepted and the institute was directed to provide the information sought by the applicant. The institute had challenged it in the High Court which was rejected.

The CIC had passed two orders on December 25, 2015 and January 25, 2016. In the first order, the CIC had ordered the institute to allow the applicant to inspect the records. Then in January 2016, it had directed the institute to provide clear information on all the 27 points raised by it.

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