CIC Rules: Lawyers Can't Use RTI for Clients’ Cases
CIC Rules: Lawyers Can't Use RTI for Clients’ Cases
CIC clarifies advocates cannot use RTI to obtain case details for clients, reinforcing the Act's core objective and preventing misuse.
The Central Information Commission has ruled that advocates cannot use the Right to Information Act to seek details regarding cases they are handling for clients, noting that such use undercuts the Act’s fundamental purpose. The decision follows a Madras High Court judgment warning that allowing lawyers to access information on behalf of clients would undermine transparency and could turn RTI into a tool to promote legal practice rather than serve citizens.
In one noted instance cited during the appeal, the public authority had denied a request for information tied to the termination of a fruits-and-vegetables supply contract at a Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya in Haryana. The advocate had sought information on behalf of his brother, who used to be supplier of vegetables/fruits to the recipient public authority. The Commission observed that, in the absence of an explanation why the supplier could not seek the information himself, the filing appeared to be a bid to obtain data for the advocate’s client rather than for public access to information. It echoed the Madras High Court’s caution that a practising advocate cannot seek information relating to cases instituted by him on behalf of his client.
Taking note of claims that records were destroyed in a fire and that some personal information was rightly denied, the CIC said there was no infirmity in the reply provided by the CPIO. The appeal was disposed of with a direction to share copies of written submissions with the appellant. The ruling underscores that RTI’s laudable objectives cannot be exploited for personal ends or to promote legal practice, and it reinforces the principle that information requests should be driven by genuine citizen access.
