Ahmedabad: An RTI applicant cannot bring along another person to help inspect official records, Gujarat High Court has ruled while allowing a 74-year-old man access to documents held by a gram panchayat.The court directed Jodhu Vala, a resident of Nagdala village in Gir Somnath district, to inspect the records personally and without a companion. It observed that permitting another person to view the documents could amount to disclosing the information to a third party.Vala had sought information from the village talati-cum-mantri under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. As the records were voluminous, the officer allowed him to inspect them. Vala subsequently arrived with about six villagers and insisted that they, too, be allowed access to the documents.According to the authorities, the group created a commotion after the woman officer refused to let everyone inspect the records. Vala appealed against the decision, but the state information commissioner rejected his plea after taking note of the alleged misconduct.Vala then approached the high court. He assured the court that he would behave courteously during his next visit and would not carry a phone or camera. However, he sought permission to bring along a person familiar with the language and contents of the records to help him identify the information he needed.Declining the request, Justice Nirzar Desai stated, “If the petitioner himself is not conversant with the language or the contents of the information sought, prima facie, permitting another person to accompany him during the inspection would, in effect, amount to providing the information to a third party. This gives rise to a prima facie impression that the petitioner is merely acting as a pawn for such a third party, which is not the object or purpose of the RTI Act.”However, considering his promise of not causing any inconvenience to the RTI officer, HC quashed the information commissioner’s order of denying information to him on account of his alleged misconduct before the officer.Permitting Vala to have access to the govt records under RTI, HC said, “It is, however, clarified that the petitioner shall be permitted to inspect the records only if he himself undertakes the inspection and does not insist upon any other person accompanying him during such inspection. No information shall be furnished or inspection permitted unless the petitioner personally inspects the records without the presence of any accompanying person.”
