- SUPREME COURT GIVES STATES, UNION TERRITORIES (UTS) AND HIGH COURTS THREE MONTHS TO SET UP ONLINE RTI PORTALS.
- The direction was given while hearing a plea highlighting that online web portal for Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005 are still to be operationalised by some of the High Courts.
- Section 6(1) of RTI, 2005 stipulated that an information seeker had a statutory right to move an application through electronic means. However, several High Courts and most district courts entertain only physical RTI applications.
- Recently, Supreme Court and some HCs in Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Delhi have set up an online portal facilitating requests for supply of information.
- RTI Act, 2005 empowers citizens to seek information from public authorities and the authority is under liability to respond to such a request within a period of 30 day. It replaced the Freedom of Information Act, 2002.
