(a) whether the Government is aware of the cases of obtaining information for personal gains under the Right to Information (RTI) Act and harassing the respectable citizens of the country by misusing the media;
(b) if so, the details of such cases reported during the last three years and the current year; and
(c) the steps taken/proposed to be taken to check misutilisation of the RTI Act?
Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions and Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office. (SHRI V. NARAYANASAMY)
(a) & (b): Some concerns have been reported in the media that RTI is being misused. Hon’ble Supreme Court has also suggested in Civil Appeal No.6454 of 2011 (Central Board of Secondary Education Vs. Aditya Bandhopadhyay and Others) that the Act should not be allowed to be converted into a tool of oppression or intimidation of honest officials striving to do their duty.
(c): RTI Act has enough provisions to deny access to information which may harm personal interests.