HC ASKS CIC TO DECIDE APPEAL AGAINST MHA'S REFUSAL TO GIVE INFO ON E-SURVEILLANCE New Delhi:

The Delhi High Court Thursday asked the Central Information Commission (CIC) to decide an appeal within eight weeks on the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) refusal to provide information on electronic surveillance. Justice Yashwant Varma took on record and accepted the statement made by CIC counsel that all endeavour shall be made to decide the appeal expeditiously and in any case within eight weeks. The high court was hearing a plea by Apar Gupta, a lawyer, co-founder, and executive director of the Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) challenging the rejection of his RTI applications seeking statistical information on state-sponsored electronic surveillance. During the hearing, advocate Gaurang Kanth, appearing for CIC, submitted that there has been a backlog due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the commission is presently hearing petitions of 2019, while Gupta's appeal was filed this year. The judge said "So you are feeling heavily burdened? I have no problem in passing a direction to decide.” The court permitted the petitioner's counsel to place certain additional documents on record to establish that the material could not be weeded out during the pendency of an RTI application, as claimed by the CPIO.