The information obtained through the Right to Information (RTI) Act is not for media use. That is what the home ministry has conveyed to RTI applicant Subhash Chandra Agrawal.

In his RTI application filed in February 2010, Delhi-based Agrawal  had sought, among other details, the names of persons recommended by the members of Padma Awards Committee and the names of the recommending members.

The ministry dispatched these details last week. However, along with the details, it said, “the above information is for the consumption of the applicant and not (repeat not) for publicity in the press.”

Agrawal told Governance Now: “The Central Information Commission should confirm if such directions are according to the law. Interestingly, details that the ministry desires not be disclosed to the media are already on the website of a prominent English daily.”