In a significant step toward modernising the Right to Information (RTI) regime, the Delhi High Court on Wednesday directed the Union government to evolve a mechanism within three months to ensure that RTI applicants can receive information through contemporary digital formats such as email and pen drives.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyay and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela observed that while the RTI Act, 2005, and the RTI Rules, 2012, provide a foundational framework for information access, they fail to keep pace with technological advancements, thereby undermining the spirit of transparency and efficiency envisaged by the law.
“Information sought under the RTI Act ought to be provided through all viable electronic modes, including email or pen drive,” the court held, referring to Sections 4(4) and 7(9) of the Act, which stress accessibility and accommodation of applicants’ preferred modes of receiving information, subject to certain limitations.
The court noted that the current RTI Rules make no provision for delivery of information via email, pen drives, or other digital formats. “When we peruse the RTI Rules, what we find is that the said rules do not address the situation where information is sought in a particular mode such as email or pen drive,” the bench remarked, calling the gap a “serious shortcoming.”
The direction came in response to a writ petition filed by Akash Chauhan, a law student, who argued that the existing framework continues to rely on obsolete storage media like diskettes and floppy disks. Chauhan’s petition highlighted the absence of statutory recognition for modern delivery mechanisms such as emails, USB drives, CDs, or cloud storage links — all of which are secure, widely used, and cost-efficient.
The plea also drew attention to the disproportionate burden placed on applicants from marginalised backgrounds, including persons with disabilities, the elderly, and residents of rural or remote areas, for whom accessing physical copies often requires travel, expense, and time.
The court acknowledged these concerns and stressed the need for systemic reform. It directed the appropriate authority in the central government to consider framing new rules or adopting other measures to operationalise electronic delivery of information under the RTI Act, in a manner compliant with existing safeguards.
“We are of the opinion that an adequate framework may be put in place to make the information seeker realise the true purport of the RTI,” the bench stated, ordering the government to take necessary steps within three months.
