SHILLONG : The Shillong Bar Association has filed a first appeal after its Right to Information (RTI) application seeking details of public funds spent on the office of Meghalaya Advocate General Amit Kumar was denied.
Assistant Secretary of the Shillong Bar Association, N. Shyambor Singh Marpna, said on Friday that the association had not received the information requested through its RTI application dated August 10, 2026.
“Also one prayer that we are seeking is regarding the RTI application dated August 10, 2026 which we have not got any information,” Marpna said.
Association secretary T. L. Jyrwa confirmed that the Bar had initiated further proceedings following the rejection of its application, with the first appeal currently pending before the appellate authority.
“After the denial of the RTI report, we have taken further steps and that is we have filed an appeal that is still pending,” Jyrwa said, adding that the RTI Act prescribes specific timelines for deciding applications and appeals.
Explaining the association’s position, Marpna said exemptions under the RTI Act were limited and that information could be disclosed when the public interest in disclosure outweighed the harm protected by an exemption.
He referred to provisions concerning personal information, national security and cabinet deliberations, arguing that such exemptions should not automatically prevent the disclosure of information relating to public expenditure.
“As per personal information, these exceptions are also not absolute exceptions. If it outweighs the public interest then you have to give that information. So it does affect us, so they have to give us that information,” he said.
Marpna further stated that the Public Information Officer (PIO) had rejected the association’s original application by invoking Section 8 of the RTI Act, which provides for certain exemptions from disclosure.
The association will now wait for the first appellate authority to decide the matter within the applicable timeline. Marpna said that if the appeal is successful, the authority could direct the concerned PIO to provide the requested information.
He added that if the information is denied again, the association intends to pursue a second appeal before the Central Information Commission (CIC).
“If again refused, whatever the reasons they cite again we have another forum which is the CIC and then we will file an appeal before the CIC. So we have to exhaust those remedies and then finally after that if it is again refused by the CIC then the other forum is before the High Court,” Marpna said.
The development comes amid the Shillong Bar Association’s ongoing demand for the removal of Advocate General Amit Kumar, with the association continuing to raise concerns over the state government’s handling of the issue.