BOMBAY HC REFUSES RTI REQUEST ON HERITAGE BUILDING AUDITS

The public information officer of the Bombay High Court has declined to provide information under the Right to Information (RTI) Act regarding the structural audits of the court's heritage building in south Mumbai. The officer claimed that disclosing such details could jeopardize the lives of judges and other officials.

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Environmental activist Zoru Bathena had submitted an RTI application last month, seeking copies of the most recent three structural audits conducted for the main and annexe buildings of the Bombay High Court. Bathena explained that he had sought this information for another case related to the reconstruction of the 135-year-old reservoir at Malabar Hill in south Mumbai. According to Bathena, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had asserted that the reservoir was beyond repair and needed to be reconstructed. To counter this claim, Bathena wanted to provide examples of the hig