Court orders digital RTI transparency system

CH NEWS, BENGALURU Government transparency just took a massive leap forward. The Karnataka High Court has officially ordered the State Information Commission to establish a uniform digital format. This system will streamline how every public department and government authority collects, maintains, and shares vital Right to Information data. A local Bengaluru resident, N. Ramesh Babu, originally sparked this legal battle. He filed a petition after public authorities repeatedly blocked his requests for data on penalised officials. Public Information Officers and appellate authorities previously refused his queries, claiming the records lacked a consolidated format. Hearing the case, Justice Suraj Govindaraj partially allowed the petition, issuing sweeping corrective orders. The High Court bench strongly emphasized that citizens deserve effortless access to governance data. To achieve this, the Commission must build a centralized electronic index on its official website. This clever digital hub will eliminate the frustrating need to hunt through dozens of separate departmental web pages. Under the new judicial directives, this unified portal must feature clear year-wise data. It will track received, disposed, and rejected applications, along with first and second appeal records. Furthermore, the portal will display exact penalties imposed and formal disciplinary actions recommended against non-compliant officials under Section 20 of the legislation. Every single state department must now designate a dedicated officer responsible for continuous record-keeping. All department files must transition into searchable, sortable electronic formats, ending the era of manual file inspections. Additionally, the Information Commission must host a clearly visible section titled 'RTI Implementation and Compliance' on its primary webpage. Of course, the court clarified that these digital transparency rules will not override existing legal exemptions protecting sensitive public matters. Finally, the bench gave the Commission an strict eight-week window to provide the petitioner with all originally requested records. Citizens across the state now celebrate this landmark ruling, anticipating a more accountable and transparent administration moving forward.