Documents obtained under RTI are not automatically public documents; must satisfy Indian Evidence Act criteria for secondary evidence.
In a significant ruling, the Gujarat High Court has provided clarity on the admissibility of documents obtained under the Right to Information Act, 2005 (RTI) in civil litigation. The court ruled that documents received through RTI do not automatically qualify as public documents under the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, and cannot be admitted as secondary evidence unless foundational requirements are met.
The case involved a dispute in Special Civil Suit No.494 of 2011, where the plaintiffs sought the exhibition of certain documents obtained from the Surat Municipal Corporation under RTI. The trial court had previously allowed these documents to be exhibited, treating them as public documents. However, this decision was challenged by the defendants, leading to the recent judgment by the Gujarat High Court.
Justice Maulik J. Shelat emphasized that private documents obtained through RTI remain private unless they are part of public records kept by the state. The court highlighted that such documents must meet the criteria set out in Section 65 of the Indian Evidence Act to be admissible as secondary evidence.
The ruling elaborated that while RTI allows for the access and certification of documents, it does not alter the nature of the documents. Documents certified under RTI are not equivalent to certified copies under the Indian Evidence Act unless they are public records of private documents. The court also noted that the burden of proof lies on the party seeking to admit such documents as evidence, requiring them to establish their admissibility under the law.
This decision comes after a detailed review of legal precedents and the legislative framework governing document admissibility in Indian courts. The judgment serves as an important reference for future cases involving the use of RTI-obtained documents in legal proceedings.
Bottom Line :
Documents obtained under the Right to Information Act, 2005, cannot automatically be considered as public documents under Section 74(2) of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, and are not admissible as secondary evidence unless the foundational requirements of Section 65 of the Act are satisfied.
Statutory provision(s):
Indian Evidence Act, 1872 Sections 74(2), 65(e), 65(f), Right to Information Act, 2005
