We filed six RTI applications in December 2018 seeking information about Electronic Surveillance orders passed under Section 69 of the IT Act. The information was, at first, denied on the grounds of national security. Thereafter, on appeal, when the matter was remanded back, the information was denied on the new ground that records pertaining to the information sought were destroyed as per ‘extant’ provisions (without providing the provision). When we, further, appealed against this order in August 2021 before the Chief Information Commissioner (‘CIC’), we did not get any date for hearing which we understand is due to the huge case pendency and unfilled vacancies in the CIC, owing to which the matters are only being listed after two years of filing. Three years have passed since the filing of the RTI applications, and we apprehend that the information sought is being continuously destroyed during the pendency of the RTI proceedings. Therefore, we have approached the Delhi High Court to expedite the process and to seek information on Electronic Surveillance, which impacts the fundamental rights of all citizens of the country.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://internetfreedom.in/iff-files-a-writ-petition-against-mhas-refusal-to-provide-information-on-electronic-surveillance-orders-issued-under-the-it-act/