Key Points
The Supreme Court denied anticipatory bail to two Punjab RTI activists.
The bench remarked that RTI activism has become a “new business.”
The accused claimed they were exposing corruption in a government-funded road project.
DECLINING TO GIVE ANTICIPATORY BAIL to a RTI (right to information act) activist and his aide, the Supreme Court on Monday, June 15, 2026, expressed growing concerns about how RTI has become a “new business” which obstructs public servants from performing their duties. While hearing a matter related to an alleged obstruction of road construction work in Punjab, the court questioned what authority the RTI activist Ramesh Kumar Behl and his aide Rajiv Kumar had to question and interrupt official work.
The supreme court bench — led by Justices Sandeep Mehta and Vijay Bishnoi — made the remarks while dismissing the plea of the two accused. The activist duo claimed that they were highlighting corruption in a road project involving Rs 57 crore released by the Central government. They also maintained that the police action came against them because they raised issues that sub-standard material was being used in the road construction project.
Rebuking the activists, the apex court remarked that central authorities are in place to look into the matter and oversee the construction, and that the activists are “nobody” to have a say in the matter.
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“Who are you to monitor the construction all these road progress or all? Are you some superior authority? Central government has issued funds. Central government will take care of the construction. You are nobody,” the bench remarked.
“You obstructed public servants from performing their duties. RTI activists. It’s become a new business. You don’t allow people to work. RTI activism has become a new business. The Central government has issued funds, it will take care of the construction of the road. You are nobody. So-called RTI activist! Yellow journalism,” the supreme court bench said while dismissing the plea.
In February 20, 2026, an FIR was filed against Behl and Kumar which alleged that the two obstructed an ongoing road construction work in Batala, a city in Punjab’s Gurdaspur district. The complaint also stated that they interfered with the execution of the work and threatened supervising officials who were present at the construction site. In addition, one of the accused used a datar (knife) to attack a local worker, while the other accused kicked him repeatedly which led to the worker sustaining serious injuries. Behl and Kumar also purportedly hurled caste-based derogatory remarks towards the worker.
Behl and Kumar were booked under various provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanahita (BNS) and also section 3 of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Earlier, on May 15, 2026, the Punjab high court had rejected the two accused's anticipatory bail. The court held that claims of corruption could not justify anticipatory bail, especially when custodial interrogation was necessary. Before that, a Special Judge in Gurdaspur had rejected his anticipatory bail plea on April 2, 2026.
After the high court’s order, the two accused approached the supreme court.
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