Odisha Information Commission debars RTI applicant from filing applications for a year 

The Odisha State Information Commissioner has barred a Right To Information (RTI) activist from filing any further RTI applications in the commission for a period of one year from Saturday (September 13, 2025).

The order, many RTI activists termed bizarre, was passed by Susanta Kumar Mohanty, a career journalist who became State Information Commissioner (SIC) in 2023.

In his order SIC Mr. Mohanty pointed out that appellant one, Chittaranjan Sethy, had filed numerous appeals  and  complaints under the RTI Act, 2005, seeking a wide range of information from various public authorities across Odisha, which are pending for  adjudication in this Commission.

“Out of the cases filed by the appellant in this Commission, 61 (35 second appeals and 26 complaints) cases in the year 2023 have been listed for hearing before this bench and are being taken up together and disposed of by way of a common order,” said the SIC. 

The information commissioner said applications were repetitive in nature and burdensome for public authorities.

“The common appellant or complainant has mainly sought information regarding development work, income, expenditure and other works by repeatedly filing of applications from Nimapara Block and gram panchayat. The information was requested month wise and year-wise separately from the public information officer of Meteipur panchayat and Nimapara block in Puri district. Upon review of these applications it was found that the same were repetitive in nature and burdensome placing unnecessary stress on public resources,” Mr. Mohanty observed.

“The applicant Mr. Sethy is debarred from filing any further RTI applications in the Commission, for a period of one year with immediate effect, from the date of pronouncement of this order,” the SIC directed.

Moreover, the Commission capped the number of applications the applicant can file under the RTI Act before public authorities. Mr. Sethy can file a maximum of 12 applications under the RTI Act before various public authorities in a calendar year.

The SIC order says analysis revealed the applicant had sought information indiscriminately with repetition of information from Meteipur panchayat.

“According to 2011 census, the Meteipur panchayat has 250 houses with population of 1250. The applicant has filed 61 cases with the panchayat in the year 2023. Thus it is assumed that he filed more than five applications on an average in a month using his Below Poverty Line card,” he pointed out.

The SIC further noted, “it is seen that most of the RTI applications are repetitive and appears to harass the public authorities rather than serve any genuine public interest, which establishes clear abuse of RTI act. Further it is seen that currently 383 number of cases as on June 30, 2025 were filed by this applicant, and the same are pending before the State Information Commission, Odisha.”

“The applicant claims to be investigating corruption within the Panchayat Samiti under Nimapara Block. However, his approach does not confirm to the proper and lawful procedures for addressing such grievances,” Mr. Mohanty remarked.

“Why was Mr. Sethy compelled to file so many appeal cases? Because, he was denied information by PIO in the first place.  The SIC instead of imposing fine on PIO for sharing information to the applicant went in for issuing a ban. This is horrible situation in Odisha,” said Pradip Pradhan, convenor of Odisha Sochana Adhikar Abhiyan (OSAA), a forum of RTI activists.

Mr. Pradhan also pointed out, “as per spirit of RTI Act, the Commission should have sympathetically heard the applicant as to why he had filed so many appeal petitions. However, Commission chose to side with public authorities who defaulted in sharing information.”

The OSAA convenor said the Act did not have provision to penalise RTI applicants where as the Commission should hold public authorities accountable for denial of information.