The RTI Act which was enacted to promote transparency in public life is now increasingly being used to settle personal disputes, the Central Information Commission (CIC) has held.

"Unfortunately, the provisions of RTI act is being increasingly misused by a large number of persons for settling personal and family disputes, including divorce and claim of maintenance related cases," Information Commissioner M M Ansari said while hearing one such petition.

The Information Commissioner expressed his inability to stop such "frivolous" petitions. "The cost burden of such frivolous petitions has to be borne by the society because we cannot stop them," he said. The issue of misuse of RTI came up while hearing the plea of a Delhi resident I P Aggarwal who sought personal and official details of his sister-in-law Aruna Aggarwal, an employee in the Department of Commerce. Aggarwal was having marital dispute and the information was sought under the backdrop. The department refused to part with the information citing that it was personal in nature. Upholding the view of the department in this regard, Ansari said, "Aggarwal has not given concurrence for disclosure of the submission made by her to the respondent and such records are surely private documents. Therefore, the denial of information is justified."