Delhi High Court Slams MCD for Failing to Publicly Share Records 20 Years After RTI Act

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday reprimanded the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) for failing to make its legislative records, proceedings, and committee resolutions publicly accessible, even 20 years after the Right to Information (RTI) Act came into force. The court has directed the MCD to file a detailed affidavit explaining the steps taken to implement Section 4 of the RTI Act, which mandates proactive disclosure of information by public authorities.

Background

The case was heard by a bench comprising Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyay and Justice Tejas Karia, on a public interest petition filed by the NGO Centre for Youth, Culture, Law and Environment. The petition sought timely publication of all legislative records, proceedings, and committee resolutions on the MCD’s website to ensure transparency and reduce the need for individual RTI requests.

Court’s Observations

The bench expressed surprise and concern over the MCD’s inaction, noting that two decades have passed since the RTI Act of 2005, yet the civic body has failed to comply. The court emphasized that public authorities have a statutory responsibility under Section 4 to make information accessible proactively and that no exemption is allowed.

The court instructed the MCD to publish the required information within 120 days and maintain regular updates thereafter. Criticizing the civic body, the bench questioned the excuses provided, saying, “Which process are you referring to? The RTI Act was enacted 20 years ago. What were you doing all this while?”

MCD’s Response

MCD’s counsel, Manu Chaturvedi, assured the court that steps are underway, citing ongoing updates following the merger of three MCDs. Social activist Paras Tyagi, representing the petitioner, highlighted that the website has remained largely unupdated, preventing public access to crucial legislative information.

The court’s remarks reinforce the legal obligation of civic authorities to ensure transparency, reducing dependency on RTI filings and promoting accountability in public governance.