Orissa High Court sets aside Information Commission’s order debarring RTI activist from filing queries for one year

The Orissa High Court has set aside an order of the Odisha State Information Commission that had debarred an RTI applicant from filing new queries for one year, citing that the “applications filed by him in the past were repetitive in nature and burdensome, placing unnecessary stress on public resources.”

The Commission debarred him from filing any further applications for a period of one year with immediate effect, while allowing a maximum of 12 applications in a calendar year under the RTI Act.

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State Information Commissioner (SIC) Susanta Kumar Mohanty, in a ruling pronounced on 13 September 2025, stated that the conduct of applicant Chittaranjan Sethy constitutes an abuse of the RTI process and is a clear indication of misuse. The Commission debarred him from filing any further applications for a period of one year with immediate effect, while allowing a maximum of 12 applications in a calendar year under the RTI Act.

“The court is also of the view that the restriction imposed on the petitioner not to make any further applications under the RTI Act in a calendar year, but allowing 12 applications only in a year before various public authorities, is not justified. In other words, the court is of the conclusion that opposite party No.1 (State Information Commission) could not have imposed such a restriction on the petitioner even though he is in the habit of filing number of applications seeking information under the RTI Act and therefore, to that extent, the impugned order is liable to be set aside,” the Single Bench of Justice R.K.Pattanaik ruled.

As a result, the writ petition stands disposed of, and the order dated 13th September, 2025, by opposite party No.1 (State Information Commission) is hereby set aside to the extent aforesaid, Justice Pattnaik ordered.