Patna High Court issues directions to the Bihar Government, ask the govt. to publish information in public about the number of deaths during Covid-19

Recently, Patna High Court in the case of Shivani Kaushik v. Union of India reiterated the words of the director-general of WHO, “we are not just fighting a pandemic, we are fighting an infodemic.” 

Noticing the reluctance of the Bihar Government to put in the public domain the number of deaths that occurred in Bihar during the time of Covid-pandemic, the Bench, comprising of Chief Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice S. Kumar has put the questions as to whether the people in the state have right to information about the number of death and whether the government has a duty to disclose the same either voluntarily or mandated by the law.

It reminded the state government that the right to information is a facet of Article 21 of the Constitution of India. Right to know is a right which citizens aspire in the broader horizon of right to live. Moreover, transparency is the hallmark of good governance. The Bench further observed that the RTI Act casts a duty upon the public authorities to suo motu provide the information unless it is protected by law. 

Directions given by the Court

The directions given by the Court are as followed:-

1. The Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 and the Right to Information Act, 2005, give right to a person of access to information. Therefore, the Digital Portal, which is regularly updated, should be made accessible to the general public.

2. It is needless to say that the private information of deceased individuals will still be protected under the Right to Privacy read into Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, but has to be balanced with the 'General public awareness' and information dissemination.

3. The Right to Information is a Fundamental Right. Therefore, the Government of Bihar is under an obligation to provide information to the residents about the number of deaths that have occurred during the Covid-19 pandemic on the Digital portal.

4. It is the duty of the State under the Registration Act to facilitate the right of any person to cause a search, and for that, the Digital Portal must be updated immediately that is maintained by different entities. 

5. The court has further found the Digital Portals maintained by the Government to be opaque, and has therefore directed the authorities to take steps to integrate ease of access, which aligns with the Digital India’s program's larger aim.

6. The information which is to be updated regularly shall be done in line with the right to privacy which is recognized under the Constitution.

7. The Government of Bihar shall take actions that are necessary for sensitizing the general public, especially in the rural areas, of their Constitutional and Statutory right of uploading and getting information on the digital portal.