Minors cannot use RTI Act, says UP information commission, CIC disagrees

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_minors-cannot-use-rti-act-says-up-information-commission-cic-disagrees_1475597

Minors cannot seek information under the RTI Act, the Uttar Pradesh
information commission has said while dismissing the plea of a fourth
class student who had sought details of missing documents from the
chief minister's office.

Surprisingly, the Right to Information Act does not have any clause
where age is the criterion for filing information seeking
applications. It only mentions that a "citizen of India" can demand
information from public authorities by paying a fee of Rs10.

Chief information commissioner at Central information Commission AN
Tiwari also said that the Act does not limit its use by people above
the age of 18 years.

"There is no restriction of age limit. The Act allows a citizen of
India to file the application," Tiwari said.

The case in point is of a nine-year old Aishwarya Sharma who had
approached chief minister Mayawati's office with a hand written
complaint on a notebook page about a garbage dump in front of her
school.

Seeing no initial action, she sent her RTI application seeking to know
rules under which garbage dumps can be allowed in front of schools.
Faced with such uncomfortable questions, the officials informed her
that the RTI application was not received by the office.

Aishwarya shot off another application seeking to know the number of
such letters that have gone missing from the chief minister's office
and officials responsible for misplacing her letter.

While she was trying to extract information, Lucknow Municipal
Corporation removed the garbage dump but no details about her
questions were provided by the chief minister's office.

When the case reached the state information commission, chief
information commissioner Ranjit Singh Pankaj held that applicant is a
class three student (at the time of filing application) who is
prima-facie minor and does not come under the definition of major in
Indian Majority Act.

Pankaj said any complaint or appeal under the Act is a qasi-judicial
proceeding and any minor person cannot act in the RTI Act. He asked
Aishwarya to present her appeal through her guardian.

Section 22 of the RTI Act says, "Provisions of this Act shall have
effect notwithstanding anything inconsistent therewith contained in
the Official Secrets Act, 1923, and any other law for the time being
in force or in any instrument having effect by virtue of any law other
than this Act."

"It is clear that rejection of application by the SIC does not stand.
Age is not the criterion to seek information. Second provisions of
Indian Majority Act does not apply because of overriding powers of the
RTI Act," Urvashi Sharma, a civil society worker, said.

--
Urvashi Sharma

RTI Helpmail( Web Based )
aishwaryaj2010@gmail.com

Mobile Rti Helpline
8081898081 ( 8 A.M. to 10 P.M. )