The PIL brought to the court’s attention a notice outside the DC’s office that clearly mentioned that applications under the RTI Act could only be submitted in English or Punjabi.

Hitendra Jain, general secretary of Resurgence India, which filed the PIL, said, “This is in violation of Section 6 (1) of the RTI Act which specifically allows RTI applications in Hindi, English and regional language. In addition to this, the notice is also in violation of Article 350 of the Constitution of India and Section 7 of the Punjab Official Languages Act, 1967, both of which allow citizens to file their communications for redressal of grievances in Hindi in addition to English and other languages used in the state.”