HC seeks BMC commissioner's reply on comments on RTI activists

The Bombay High Court issued today a notice to Mumbai municipal commissioner Ajoy Mehta on a petition alleging that he made some uncharitable remarks about Right to Information (RTI) activists.

A bench of Justices R M Borde and V M Deshpande asked Mehta to submit his reply on the petition filed by Kamlakar Shenoy, an activist, within two weeks.

The petition said that following the fire at Kamala Mills compound last December which claimed 14 lives, Mehta issued a circular, which contained objectionable remarks about RTI activists in the city.

The circular, which listed steps taken by the corporation against unauthorised alterations in the wake of the fire tragedy, also directed officials to make a list of RTI activists who regularly file queries about unauthorised constructions with ulterior motives.

The petition said Mehta mentioned in interviews to newspapers and news channels that he had asked deputy municipal commissioners to prepare a list of "professional complainants" who seek details of building plans through RTI so as to extort money from property owners or builders.

Shenoy said some people indeed misuse the RTI, but it was wrong for Mehta, a "public officer", to generalise the problem and make such comments.

The BMC was trying to shift the blame for the fire incident onto RTI activists, he contended, and requested the court to direct Mehta and all government officials not to make such comments in future.