RTI activism has become a new business: Supreme Court

RTI activism has become a new business, the Supreme Court observed on Monday, June 15, as it refused to grant anticipatory bail to an activist as well as other accused in connection with obstructing a public servant in road construction work.

While hearing the matter, a bench of Justices Sandeep Mehta and Vijay Bishnoi denied bail to RTI activist Rakesh Kumar Behl and his aide. Further, the apex court raised questions over their authority to monitor the road construction work, PTI reported.

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“RTI activism has become a new business. The Central government has issued funds, it will take care of the construction of the road. You are nobody. So-called RTI activist! Yellow journalism. Dismissed,” Justice Mehta observed.

Justice Bishnoi added, “Who are you to monitor the construction of all these roads? Are you some superior authority or what?”

The matter came up for hearing in the top court after Behl has challenged the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s order denying him anticipatory bail. In their plea, his counsel contended that Behl was falsely implicated in the case, since he highlighted the alleged corruption involved in the road construction work.

An FIR registered against them states that Behl and another accused – Rajiv Kumar alias Mintu – allegedly obstructed the ongoing road construction work in Batala of Punjab’s Gurdaspur district. They are also believed to have intimated the complainant under whose supervision the work was being executed as well as the labourers present at the site.

The FIR was registered against them under Sections 304, 132, 221, 121, 351, 351, of BNS, 2023 , 121 of the BNS, 2023 along with Section 3 of the SC/ST Act.