Damarudhar Patel v. Chhattisgarh SIC (2026): muster rolls

The writ petition was disposed of with a direction to respondent No. 5, the Secretary functioning as Public Information Officer of Gram Panchayat Gidhali, to furnish the relevant documents sought in the original application and not supplied till date, in accordance with law, upon the petitioner filing a fresh application before the concerned authority. Respondent No. 3, the Public Information Officer in the office of the Chief Executive Officer, Zila Panchayat, was directed to look into the matter seriously and ensure that the requisite information is furnished within a reasonable time. The Court added that in case of non-furnishing of information without justifiable reason, an adverse inference may be drawn in appropriate proceedings.

The petitioner, a resident of village Bhadarpali in Mahasamund district, applied on 21 June 2019 under the RTI Act to the Gram Panchayat for information and certified copies of orders and muster rolls pertaining to the digging of Satbahani pond under the MGNREGA scheme for 2011-2012. When nothing came within the prescribed time he pursued a first appeal under section 19 and then a second appeal, but the complete information was never furnished. He then moved the High Court under Article 226, also praying for penalty and compensation.

The Court held that the RTI Act, 2005 is a beneficial legislation enacted to ensure transparency and accountability in the functioning of public authorities, and that any request for information can only be denied in accordance with the specific exemptions provided under the Act. The authorities cannot withhold information arbitrarily or on vague grounds. Since the grievance of the petitioner still subsisted to the extent that complete and relevant information had not been furnished in its entirety, the direction followed.

• RTI Act s.4 - the disclosure background against which village works records sit
• RTI Act s.19 - first and second appeals, which the petitioner exhausted before the writ
• Constitution of India, Article 226 - writ jurisdiction used once the statutory ladder failed

Name the work, the village and the year when you ask for muster rolls, exactly as this petitioner did for the Satbahani pond digging of 2011-2012, and ask for certified copies of the orders and muster rolls together. Walk the section 19 ladder first, keeping dated copies of the application and the appeals, because the Court used that history to find the grievance alive. Note the practical condition in the direction: a fresh application had to be filed, so if your own file has gone stale, re-file rather than argue. Muster rolls and connected books also go to the Gram Sabha for social audit, which is a separate and free route explained on the muster rolls page.

The 2005 Act under which this pond work ran stood repealed on 1 July 2026 and was replaced by the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025, but records of works executed under the repealed Act remain with the same public authorities and remain the stuff of an RTI application.

• MGNREGA muster rolls and proactive disclosure
• MGNREGA wage delay topic guide
• The 2025 Act that replaced MGNREGA
• Case-Law Database - overview
• Full case-law search
• The RTI Act, 2005 - annotated
• First Appeal Builder
• The RTI Playbook

• Damarudhar Patel vs Chhattisgarh State Information … on 8 April, 2026, High Court of Chhattisgarh, https://indiankanoon.org/doc/159526286/
• Section 17 in The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005, https://indiankanoon.org/doc/27355703/ - for the Gram Sabha social audit route

Last reviewed: 12 September 2026.