Delhi HC, SC, MHA among top authorities with highest RTI rejection rates: CIC report

NEW DELHI: (Feb 12) The Delhi High Court, the Supreme Court and the Ministry of Home Affairs were among the major public authorities who rejected RTI applications the most in 2024-25, while the Ministry of Finance also recorded a significant number of denials, according to the latest annual report of the Central Information Commission.

The CIC report revealed that Section 8(1) of the Right to Information (RTI) Act -- which provides exemption from disclosure of information when it comes to matters such as national security and other protected interests -- was invoked 28,924 times. This accounted for nearly half, or 49.88 per cent, of all the grounds for rejection cited.

The Delhi High Court rejected 22.88 per cent of the 2,089 RTI applications it received during the year -- the highest rejection rate among the top 20 ministries, departments and independent public authorities.