SHILLONG, OCT 17: Threatening to seek High Court intervention, the Shillong Bar Association on Friday said it will exhaust all legal remedies after its RTI application seeking details of government expenditure on the office of Advocate General Amit Kumar was denied.
The association has already filed a first appeal after the PIO rejected the RTI filed on August 10, 2026, citing exemption under Section 8.
“Also one prayer that we are seeking is regarding the RTI application dated August 10, 2026, for which we have not got any information,” said Assistant Secretary N Shyambor Singh Marpna.
Secretary TL Jyrwa said, “After the denial of the RTI report, we have taken further steps and that is we have filed an appeal that is still pending. As you know, there is a procedure laid down in the RTI law and there are time limits given to decide on the application or the appeal thereafter.”
Marpna argued that the PIO’s reliance on Section 8 does not hold when public interest outweighs privacy.
“It is an exception if something is personal information, now the other is if it compromises national security and the other thing is that if cabinet discussion is under deliberation. Those are the things that come under exception. As per personal information, these exceptions are also not absolute exceptions. If it outweighs the public interest, then you have to give that information. So it does affect us, so they have to give us that information,” he said.
“The first was rejected by the PIO who had cited that exception which is Section 8,” he added.
Laying out the roadmap, Marpna warned the fight will go up to the High Court.
“First appeal and then second appeal, so we will have to wait till 30 days’ time. Now it is in the first appellate authority. There is no hearing. They just have to respond. If again they are going by that exception, they will have to give the reasons again and then they will direct the concerned PIO to give that information if we succeed in the first appeal,” he said.
“Again if refused, whatever the reasons they cite, we have another forum which is the CIC and then we will file an appeal before the CIC. So we have to exhaust those remedies and then finally after that, if it is again refused by the CIC, then the other forum is before the High Court,” Marpna said.
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