1,886 queries, 97 petitions: Dear RTI, is my ex dating now?

CHENNAI: Does my estranged lover have someone else? Has she married? Can you send me her latest photographs? Where is she working now?

These are not late-night WhatsApp messages between friends. They are a sample of the 1,886 questions a Villupuram youth fired off in 97 petitions under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, over several months.

Not to be amused, the Tamil Nadu Information Commission has warned the youth, A Santhosh, against misusing the law, and let him off only after he agreed to seek legal remedy through a court.

Following an inquiry into appeals filed by Santhosh, Information Commissioner VPR Ilamparithi cautioned the youth against misusing the Act and warned that continued filing of such petitions could lead to a one-year restriction on submitting RTI applications. He also said Santhosh could be referred to the District Health Department for counselling.

The petitions were addressed to the Additional Superintendent of Police (SP), Cuddalore, who is also the district police's Public Information Officer (PIO), over the past eight months.

Santhosh had reportedly been in a relationship with her during their college days. When she ended it, he allegedly kept harassing her through electronic devices, then turned to the RTI Act.

The PIO rejected the petitions, and Santhosh took his case to the Commission. Hearing the appeal, Information Commissioner VPR Ilamparithi said the RTI Act was meant to empower the poor and ensure transparency and corruption-free administration. Using it to demand a woman's photograph and private details, he said, was condemnable.

He also voiced concern that public information officers were spending a substantial part of their working hours answering such queries