Sat Sep 13 21:44:00 UTC 2025: Here’s a news article summarizing the provided text:
**Odisha Information Commissioner Bans RTI Activist, Cites Abuse of Process**
**Bhubaneswar, September 14, 2025** – The Odisha State Information Commission (SIC) has barred a Right to Information (RTI) activist, Chittaranjan Sethy, from filing any further RTI applications with the commission for one year. The order, issued by State Information Commissioner Susanta Kumar Mohanty, a former journalist, has sparked outrage among RTI activists who deem it “bizarre.”
Mr. Mohanty claims Mr. Sethy filed numerous, repetitive, and burdensome applications seeking information on development work, income, and expenditure from the Nimapara Block and Meteipur panchayat in Puri district. According to the SIC, 383 cases filed by Mr. Sethy are currently pending. The commission has also capped the number of RTI applications Mr. Sethy can file with public authorities to a maximum of 12 per calendar year.
The SIC order claims Mr. Sethy’s actions constitute an abuse of the RTI Act, harassing public authorities rather than serving genuine public interest. The order also noted that according to the 2011 census, the Meteipur panchayat has 250 houses with population of 1250. The applicant has filed 61 cases with the panchayat in the year 2023 and filed more than five applications on an average in a month using his Below Poverty Line card.
Pradip Pradhan, convenor of Odisha Sochana Adhikar Abhiyan (OSAA), an RTI activist forum, criticized the decision. He argues that Mr. Sethy was forced to file numerous appeals because he was initially denied information, and the SIC should have penalized the Public Information Officer (PIO) for withholding information instead of punishing the applicant. Mr. Pradhan emphasized that the RTI Act lacks provisions to penalize applicants, but requires holding public authorities accountable for denying information.
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