Furnish information under RTI Act to BPL people free of cost, Telangana High Court affirms
The Telangana High Court's ruling came on petition by a law student who was denied information about the beneficiaries of the Indiramma Indlu housing scheme unless he paid a fee.
2 min read
The court noted that GO 454, while setting fees for RTI requests, failed to address the statutory exemption for BPL applicants and therefore could not be applied to justify the denial of free information.The Telangana High Court has affirmed the right of Below Poverty Line (BPL) individuals to receive information under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, without charge. This ruling by the bench of Justice T Madhavi Devi on September 3 stemmed from a petition filed by Gadipally Ganesh, a law student from the Mahabubabad district.
Ganesh had sought information regarding the beneficiaries of the Indiramma Indlu housing scheme in his village, suspecting that eligible applicants were being excluded. His request, submitted to the Public Information Officer (PIO) of Narsimhulapet Village, was met with a demand for a fee of Rs 6,171 to cover printing costs. Despite appeals to both the First Appellate Authority and the Telangana Information Commission, Ganesh was denied relief, prompting him to file a writ petition with the high court.
Justice Madhavi Devi’s judgment underscored a critical point: Section 7(5) of the RTI Act explicitly mandates that information be provided free of charge to persons belonging to the BPL category. The court determined that no state-level directive, including the government order (GO) 454 of 2005 cited by the authorities, could supersede this central statute.
The court noted that GO 454, while setting fees for RTI requests, failed to address the statutory exemption for BPL applicants and therefore could not be applied to justify the denial of free information.
The ruling emphasises that charging a fee to a BPL applicant is a violation of the fundamental principles of the RTI Act. The court has since directed the PIO to furnish the requested information to the petitioner at no cost, reinforcing the Act’s core objective of ensuring transparent and accessible governance for all citizens, particularly the economically disadvantaged.
The Indiramma Indlu housing scheme, implemented by the Telangana government, provides permanent housing and financial aid to low-income families. Chief Minister Revanth Reddy launched the scheme in March 2024, and it offers 100 per cent subsidy for construction costs to eligible beneficiaries.
You May Like
