The Tamil Nadu State Information Commission has rejected 97 Right to Information petitions containing 1,887 questions filed by a Villupuram-based man seeking information about his former college classmate, and warned that continued misuse of the law could lead to further action.
Information commissioner V P Elamparithi issued the warning in an order dated Thursday after A Santhosh appeared before the commission to present his arguments. The petitions were directed at the police department and included questions about the woman’s personal relationships, marital status, residence and workplace.
According to the submission by the additional superintendent of Cuddalore district police, who was the public information officer in the matter, Santhosh had been in a relationship with the woman during 2024. The relationship ended after they completed college, following which, the police said, he continued to contact her through phone calls and social media.
The police submission stated that the woman attempted suicide and was admitted to a government hospital for treatment in June 2025. It also said that she filed a harassment complaint against Santhosh. Police subsequently inquired into the matter after issuing a community service register notice, or CSR.
The commission was told that Santhosh began filing RTI queries with the police station after the inquiry. One of the petitions contained 179 questions, including 68 requests for CCTV footage from specified dates. Other questions sought information about the woman’s personal life, including whether she was alive, whether she was married and how many men she had been in relationships with. The petitions also sought a photograph of the woman.
The RTI Act allows citizens to seek information held by public authorities, and the commission noted that it has been used to expose corruption and protect citizens’ rights in dealings with the state. However, Elamparithi said the petitions represented an abuse of the law because they sought private information unrelated to the legitimate disclosure of public records.
The commissioner warned that the commission would be forced to send Santhosh for medical counselling if further “mindless RTI pleas in contempt of the Act” were filed. The order recorded the police department’s submissions and rejected the petitions. After Santhosh said he would approach the court for relief, the commission closed the matter.
The case leaves the RTI process at the centre of a dispute involving two competing administrative responsibilities: enabling access to public information while preventing public authorities from disclosing private details about individuals. The commission’s order marks the immediate closure of the petitions, subject to any further legal proceedings initiated by the appellant.
