Chhattisgarh High Court rules inquiry records cannot be denied for self-defence

This digest summarizes four notable Right to Information (RTI) rulings from September 2026 issued by Indian High Courts and the Central Information Commission. It covers questions regarding the disclosure of inquiry records, government service details, CCTV footage, and answer scripts, as well as the imposition of penalties and fees.

The rulings concern public authorities including the Chhattisgarh High Court, Uttarakhand High Court, Allahabad High Court, Gujarat High Court, and the Central Information Commission (CIC). The applicants involved include individuals seeking records for self-defence, a husband seeking information on his estranged wife's government service, an RTI applicant seeking CCTV footage, a student seeking answer scripts, and an information seeker attempting to use third-party assistance for document inspection.

• Denial of inquiry records under Sections 8(1)(c) and 8(1)(j) is impermissible if no third-party privacy is involved (Chhattisgarh HC).
• Denial of information regarding an estranged wife's government service is upheld due to privacy concerns (Uttarakhand HC).
• Imposition of penalty under Section 20 requires a categorical finding of mala fide withholding (Chhattisgarh HC).
• CCTV footage covered by Section 8(1)(g) cannot be supplied directly to the applicant; they may approach a court or commission (Allahabad HC).
• It is impermissible for an information seeker to use third-party assistance in inspecting documents (Gujarat HC).
• Universities cannot levy internal fees for providing copies of answer scripts sought under the RTI Act (CIC).

Written from the document by AI, and checked against it. The original below is authoritative.

The original document