Delhi High Court Rejects RTI Direction To Create Judgment-Delay Data

The Delhi High Court on 29 October 2026 set aside an information commission direction requiring its Public Information Officer to supply a compilation of delayed judgments that was not maintained.

Judge / Bench — Amit Mahajan, J., authoring judge.

In W.P.(C) 7340/2011 (2026:DHC:9686), the Court held that the RTI Act provides access to existing information; it does not require creating or collating unavailable records. Confidential monthly lists sent to the Chief Justice did not establish that judge-wise historical data was preserved. Public interest could not supply that missing factual basis.

Advocates appearing — Petitioner: Priyam Mehta, Advocate. Respondent P.D. Gupta: None appeared.