Kochi Corporation’s move to put a leash on serial RTI ‘abusers’ triggers backlash

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The Kochi Corporation’s decision to put a leash on what it perceived as serial abusers of the Right to Information (RTI) Act seems to have landed the UDF council in trouble, with the move drawing flak from the opposition LDF, legal experts, and RTI activists alike.

The LDF will petition the State Chief Information Commissioner and the Corporation Secretary against the move on Monday (October 12, 2026), while RTI Federation Keralam is set to approach the Governor demanding a rollback of the decision. The now-controversial decision to hand over the names of “serial” RTI petitioners to the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) was taken at the council meeting on Wednesday (October 7, 2026). This was after Kadavanthra councillor Gipson George initiated a discussion calling for action against those he derogatorily referred to as “RTI labourers”.

Clarifying his stance, Mr. George said he was not against RTI but against those who weaponise what was conceived as an anti-corruption tool and a means of ensuring transparency in governance into a tool for corruption in connivance with a section of Corporation officials. “RTI applications filed by many such serial offenders vanish without the issues raised being addressed. This is a clear indication of petitioners being monetarily settled. Even common people are falling prey to this racket, going by an incident in which the owner of a 650 sq.ft. building received a ‘ransom’ demand of ₹5 lakh citing permit-related issues,” he said.