How to file Anonymous RTI in India
An anonymous RTI is one where your name, address & other parts of your identity remain unknown to the PIO. Although the RTI Act 2005 does not mention that an applicant is required to send a proof of their identity while requesting information, it does state that one must be a citizen of India in order to enjoy use of the Act. This can be used as grounds by the PIO in order to ascertain the complete identity of the applicant.
There can be a number of reasons why you might need to protect your identity while filing a RTI application. India has an extremely well known corruption problem. Since the introduction of the Right to Information Act in 2005, hundreds of journalists, activists and whistleblowers have been murdered and countless more have been harassed both physically and mentally. The lack of a whistleblower protection act coupled with the state of politics in India has contributed to an increase in the number of attacks year on year.
The simplest way to file an anonymous RTI application is to get someone else to do it. However a few considerations need to be made.
1. RTI application relevant within a State
If the requested information is restricted to an area, district or state level, it is recommended to request someone from a distant state to file the RTI application. Further it is better if the state has a different political regime than the one the RTI pertains to because coordination between antagonist regimes can be a benefit you can play around.
2. RTI application for Central authorities
For central Public Authorities it is wiser to request someone to file the application on your behalf whose state has a different political regime than the central government. For e.g. Since BJP is in power at central level, it is wiser to ask someone from Punjab to file the RTI application. Another solution is to contact a lawyer and request them to proxy your application. Lawyers can usually protect themselves and take protective measure against threats of retribution.
3. Drafting the application
The application must be drafted in such as way that cannot lead back to the actual applicant. A lot of time it is seen that applicants enter unnecessary details in the application. For e.g. While requesting the map of a plot of land, the individual also discloses that the land is a source of dispute between themselves and an influential local politician who has illegally taken possession of the said plot. It is important to understand that you don’t need to give any reason or justification to the Public Information Officer as to ‘why’ you need the information. Simple state ‘what’ you want and it is good enough.
If you don’t have a contact in a different state or access to a lawyer is not possible, you can try the anonymous RTI filing service at https://rtilikho.com
RTILikho is a nonprofit working for the people in order to make India safer, transparent and a much better place to live. You can reach us at https://rtilikho.com/contact
