AG slams ‘abuse’ of RTI Act when pressed about PO’s failure to disclose information

The Right to Information (RTI) Act is being ‘widely abused’ in the name of obtaining information, says Attorney General Ahmed Usham.

He made the remark when questioned by a reporter on Wednesday about complaints over failure of the President’s Office to disclose information within legally-mandated timeframes.

Usham said the RTI Act was enacted for a very important purpose, and that it was important to disclose information to people who make “good” use of the law.

He said that there had been an increase in misuse of the RTI Act.

“The law was enacted for a very important purpose. But we have frequently seen recently how the RTI Act is being widely abused,” he said.

Usham said that government agencies were forced to spend a lot of time in responding to requests filed under the RTI Act because of the misuse.

He remarked that this was a result of “certain things being done” using the RTI Act, without elaborating.

The remarks come amid widespread complaints over failure of government institutions and companies, including the President’s Office, to disclose information. The 2025 statistics released by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICOM) show that out of the 712 complaints lodged with the office last year, 487 involved failures to respond to requests for information filed under the RTI Act.

Many of the complaints were directed at the President’s Office. And some of the cases involve significant delays in providing information, even when directed by ICOM.

Usham’s remarks follows the same vein as recent remarks by Homeland Security Minister Ali Ihusan, who said that disclosing information under the RTI Act was a costly affair.

The remarks come as government institutions face accusations of misusing provisions on confidential information to withhold information.

Government institutions have also been accused of providing incomplete or even inaccurate information when they do release information.