RTI documents cannot be marked ‘not evidence’: GIC

RTI documents cannot be marked ‘not evidence’: GIC 

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 28.10.2024

Ahmedabad : The Gujarat Information Commission (GIC) has ruled against the practice of govt departments adding disclaimer stamps on documents provided under Right to Information (RTI). These disclaimers typically state, “Information provided under Section 7(9) of RTI Act in its present form cannot be considered as evidence.” In a recent order, it said that the practice was inconsistent with both state and central govt guidelines. The commission highlighted the procedural dispute after Kalupur resident Pankaj Bhatt approached the commission with documents provided by the city deputy collector (East) office, which bore the controversial stamp. Bhatt challenged the manner in which the documents were certified by a Public Information Officer (PIO) of the Ahmedabad collectorate. 

The documents bore the stamp, “Information provided under Section 7(9) of RTI Act in its present form cannot be considered as evidence”. During the hearing, state’s chief information commissioner, Subhash Soni, noted that this stamping practice contradicted the circular issued by the state govt’s General Administration Department (GAD) on Dec 29, 2015. This GAD order states that each of the pages of the documents provided under the RTI Act should bear the stamp, “Records/Information provided under the Right to Information Act.” In his order dated Oct 16, Soni said, “The PIO must rectify the stamp on all the documents in accordance with the 2015 circular, and all future RTI responses must bear the correct certification.” The order also referred to the Union govt’s department of personnel and training (DoPT) order of Oct 2015. Bhatt, who did not have the original documents during the hearing, agreed to current PIO for proper certification.  

“The copy of any govt records provided by the govt under an Act is authentic. How can any stamp exist which states that they cannot be used as evidence? It is the court of law which decides. Such stamps are illegal and contravening to the RTI Act itself,” Bhatt argued.