Handy for RTI Applicant

          As discussed in the previous post, second version of RTI Act 2005 is as under.  It has been taken every bit of care to make to comprehensive and useful to applicant specially.  It post is pro-applicant.

This new version of RTI Act will have some citation of Hon. Supreme Court and Hon. High cours also.

Right to Information (RTI) Act 2005

01                This act shall be known as Right to Information Act (RTI) 2005 {Sec: 1(I)} and it was enacted by Parliament.  On 11/05/2005 by Lok Sabha & on 12/05/2005 by Rajya Sabha.   It got approval of Hon. President of India on 15/06/2005  and it was notified in Gazette of India on 21/06/2005 and came to force from 12/10/2005.  This act extends to the whole of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir {Sec: 1(2)}.

Definitions {Section 2}

     02   (a) "appropriate Government" means in relation to a public authority which is established, constituted, owned, controlled or substantially financed by funds provided directly or indirectly (i) by the Central Government or the Union territory administration, the Central Government; (ii) by the State Government, the State Government;

(b) "Central Information Commission" means the Central Information Commission constituted under sub-section (I) of section 12;

(c) "Central Public Information Officer" means the Central Public Information Officer designated under subsection (I) and includes a Central Assistant Public Information Officer designated as such under sub-section (2) of section 5;

(d) "Chief Information Commissioner" and "Information Commissioner" mean the Chief Information Commissioner and Information Commissioner appointed under sub-section (3) of section 12;

(e) "competent authority" means-

(i) the Speaker in the case of the House of the People or the Legislative Assembly of a State or a Union territory having such Assembly and the Chairman in the case of the Council of States or Legislative Council of a State;

(ii) the Chief Justice of India in the case of the Supreme Court;

(iii) the Chief Justice of the High Court in the case of a High Court;

(iv) the President or the Governor, as the case may be, in the case of other authorities established or constituted by or under the Constitution;

(v) the administrator appointed under article 239 of the Constitution;

(f) "information" means any material in any form, including records, documents, memos, e-mails, opinions, advices, press releases, circulars, orders, logbooks, contracts, reports, papers, samples, models, data material held in any electronic form and information relating to any private body which can be accessed by a public authority under any other law for the time being in force;

(g) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act by the appropriate Government or the competent authority, as the case may be;

(h) "public authority" means any authority or body or institution of self-government established or constituted—

(a) by or under the Constitution;

(b) by any other law made by Parliament;

(c) by any other law made by State Legislature;

(d) by notification issued or order made by the appropriate Government, and includes any—

(i) body owned, controlled or substantially financed;

(ii) non-Government organisation substantially financed, directly or indirectly by funds provided by the appropriate Government;

(i) "record" includes—

(a) any document, manuscript and file;

(b) any microfilm, microfiche and facsimile copy of a document;

(c) any reproduction of image or images embodied in such microfilm (whether    enlarged or not); and

(d) any other material produced by a computer or any other device;

(j) -right to information" means the right to information accessible under this Act which is held by or under the control of any public authority and includes the right to-

(i) inspection of work, documents, records;

(ii) taking notes, extracts or certified copies of documents or records;

(iii) taking certified samples of material;

(iv) obtaining information in the thrm of diskettes, floppies, tapes, video cassettes or in any other electronic mode or through printouts where such information is stored in a computer or in any other device;

(k) "State Information Commission" means the State Information Commission constituted under sub-section (I) of Section 15;

(l) "State Chief Information Commissioner" and "State Information Commissioner” mean the State Chief Information Commissioner and the State Information Commissioner appointed under  Sub-Section  (3) of Section 15;

(m) "State Public Information Officer" means the State Public Information Officer designated under sub-section (1) and includes a State Assistant Public Information Officer designated as such under sub-section (2) of section 5;

(n) -third party'' means a person other than the citizen making a request for information and includes a public

03        Objective of the Right of Information (RTI) Act : The basic object of the Right to Information Act is to empower the citizens, to promote transparency and accountability in the working of the Government, to contain corruption, and to enhance people’s participation in democratic process thereby making our democracy work for the people in a real sense. It goes without saying that an informed citizen is better equipped to keep necessary vigil on the instruments of governance and make the government more accountable to the governed. The Act is a big step towards making the citizens informed about the activities of the Government.

04        What is Information: Information is any material in any form, it includes records, documents, memos, e-mails, opinions, advice, press releases, circulars, orders, logbooks, contracts, reports, papers, samples, models, data material held in any electronic form. It also includes information relating to any private body which can be accessed by the public authority under any law for the time being in force; {Section: 2(f)}

05        What is Public Authority: A "public authority" is any authority or body or institution of self-government established or constituted by or under the Constitution; or by any other law made by the Parliament or a State Legislature; or by notification issued or order made by the Central Government or a State Government. The bodies owned, controlled or substantially financed by the Central Government or a State Government are also public authorities. Non-Government organisations substantially financed by the Central Government or a State Government also fall within the definition of public authority. The substantial financing by the Central Government or a State Government may be direct or indirect. The Act does not define substantial financing. Various courts/Information Commissions have been deciding on this issue on the case to case basis, depending upon the merits of each case. {Sec. 2(h)}

Bullet (1):- Any private organization/institution/body is controlled by the appropriate government comes under the Act {Sec. 2(h)(d)(i)}.  Example: Any private Institution/ College/School is affiliated by University/Regulatory Body/Board (CBSC/ICSC etc.) and receiving services from that University/Regulatory Body/Board (CBSC/ICSC etc.) then RTI application should be addressed to CPIO/PIO of that University/Regulatory Body/Board(CBSC/ICSC etc.) and that PIO will collect information from that private Institution/ College/School and the same will be supplied to the applicant.

06        Public Information Officer: Public authorities have designated some of its officers as Public Information Officers. They are responsible to give information to a person who seeks information under the RTI Act. {Sec: 5(1) }

07        Assistant Public Information Officer: These are the officers at the sub-divisional level to whom a person can give his RTI application or appeal. These officers send the application or appeal to the Public Information Officer of the public authority or the concerned appellate authority. An Assistant Public Information Officer is not responsible to supply the information. {Sec. 5(2)}

 The Assistant Public Information Officers appointed by the Department of Posts in various post offices are working as Assistant Public Information Officers for all the public authorities under the Government of India.

08        Right to Information under the Act and it’s aspects: A citizen has a right to seek such information from a public authority which is held by the public authority or which is held under its control. This right includes inspection of work, documents and records; taking notes, extracts or certified copies of documents or records; and taking certified samples of material held by the public authority or held under the control of the public authority. {Sec. 2(j)}

It is important to note that only such information can be supplied under the Act that is available and existing and is held by the public authority or is held under the control of the public authority. The Public Information Officer is not supposed to create information that is not a part of the record of the public authority. The Public Information Officer is also not required to furnish information which requires drawing of inference and/or making of assumptions, or to interpret information; or to solve the problems raised by the applicants; or to furnish replies to hypothetical questions.

A citizen has a right to obtain information from a public authority in the form of diskettes, floppies, tapes, video cassettes or in any other electronic mode or through print-outs provided such information is already stored in a computer or in any other device. { Sec. 2(j)}

The information to the applicant should ordinarily be provided in the form in which it is sought. However, if the supply of information sought in a particular form would disproportionately divert the resources of the public authority or may cause harm to the safety or preservation of the records, supply of information in that form may be denied. In some cases, the applicants expect the Public Information Officer to give information in some particular proforma devised by them on the plea that they have a right to get information in the form in which it is sought. It need be noted that the provision in the Act simply means that if the information is sought in the form of photocopy, it shall be provided in the form of photocopy, or if it is sought in the form of a floppy or in any other electronic mode, it shall be provided in that form, subject to the conditions given in the Act. It does not mean that the PIO shall re-shape the information.

Some Information Seekers request the Public Information Officers to cull out information from some document(s) and give such extracted information to them. A citizen has a right to get ‘material’ from a public authority which is held by or under the control of that public authority. The Act, however, does not require the Public Information Officer to deduce some conclusion from the ‘material’ and supply the ‘conclusion’ so deduced to the applicant.  It means that the Public Information Officer is required to supply the ‘material’ in the form as held by the public authority, but not to do research on behalf of the citizen to deduce anything from the material and then supply it to him. {Sec. 2}

09        Supply of Information to Associations: The Act gives the right to information only to the citizens of India {Sec. 3}.   It does not make provision for giving information to Corporations, Associations, Companies etc. which are legal entities/persons, but not citizens. However, if an application is made by an employee or office-bearer of any Corporation, Association, Company, NGO etc. indicating his name and such employee/office bearer is a citizen of India, information may be supplied to him/her. In such cases, it would be presumed that a citizen has sought information at the address of the Corporations etc.

10        Method of Seeking Information {Sec. 6}: A citizen, who desires to obtain any information under the Act, should make an application to the Public Information Officer of the concerned public authority in writing in English or Hindi or in the official language of the area in which the application is made. The application should be precise and specific. He should make payment of application fee at the time of submitting the application as prescribed in the RTI Rules, 2012. The applicant can send the application by post or through electronic means or can deliver it personally in the office of the public authority. The application can also be sent through an Assistant Public Information Officer.

The applicant should make an application to the Public Information Officer of the concerned public authority. He should make all efforts to ascertain as to which the public authority is concerned with the information. If the information sought by an applicant is related to different PIOs in a Public Authority or is related to different Public authorities, the supply of information is likely to take a lot more time than if the information sought is related to a single PIO in one Public Authority.

The applicant should not list out his grievances in the RTI application but should clearly mention which information or record he would like to seek. Further, if the drafting of the application is such that it pinpoints towards the specific documents required in relation to the information sought, there would be less scope of ambiguity, thereby resulting in fewer chances of denial of information by the Public Information Officer. For example, instead of simply asking why my area is not being cleaned, the cleaning schedule of the area should be asked. Similarly, instead of asking when we will get water supply, water supply planning of teh area should be asked.

Bullet (2):- It is highly advised to go through URL: http://rti.gov.in/rti/states.asp before making any request under the act as different states have it’s own terms and conditions, mode of acceptance of payment, fee for first appeal etc.  Use RTI link of the concerned state and go through it’s rule/terms or conditions for better results of disposal of application(s).

Bullet (3):- An application request made under the act shall ordinarily not contain more than five hundred words, excluding annexures, containing the address of the Central Public Information Officer and that of the applicant provided that no application shall be rejected only on the ground that it contains more than five hundred words. {Rule 3 of RTI Rules 2012}

11        Fee for seeking Information: A citizen who desires to seek some information from a public authority is required to send, along with the application, a demand draft or a bankers cheque or an Indian Postal Order of Rs.10/- (Rupees ten), payable to the Accounts Officer of the public authority as fee prescribed for seeking information. The payment of fee can also be made by way of cash to the public authority or to the Assistant Public Information Officer, against a proper receipt.  {Rule 3, 4 & 6 of Right to Information Rules, 2012}.

The payment of fee to the Central  Ministries/departments can also be made online through internet banking of State Bank of India or through Master/Visa Debit/credit cards  {Rule 6 of Right to Information Rules, 2012}.    The applicant may also be required to pay a further fee towards the cost of providing the information, details of which shall be intimated to the applicant by the PIO as prescribed by the Right to Information Rules, 2012. Rates of fee as prescribed in the Rules are given below: {Rule 4 of Right of Information Rules, 2012}

 (a) rupees two (Rs. 2/-) for each page ( in A-3 or smaller size paper)

(b) actual cost or price of a photocopy in larger size paper;

(c) actual cost or price for samples or models;

(d) rupees fifty (Rs.50/-) per diskette or floppy; and

(e) price fixed for a publication or rupees two per page of photocopy for extracts from the publication.

(f) no fee for inspection of records for the first hour of inspection and a fee of rupees 5 for each subsequent hour or fraction thereof; and

(g) so much of postal charges involved in the supply of information that exceeds fifty rupees.

A citizen has a right to inspect the records of a public authority. For inspection of records, the public authority shall charge no fee for the first hour. But a fee of rupees five (Rs.5/-) for each subsequent hour (or fraction thereof) shall be charged.

 If the applicant belongs to the below poverty line (BPL) category, he is not required to pay any fee. However, he should submit proof in support of his claim as belonging to the below poverty line category. {Sec. 7(5) & Rule 5 of Right of Information Rules, 2012}

The application not accompanied by the prescribed fee of Rs.10/- or proof of the applicant’s belonging to below poverty line category, as the case may be, shall not be a valid application under the Act. It may be pointed out that there is no bar on the public authority to supply information in response to such applications.   However, provisions of Act would not apply to such cases.

Bullet (4):- If the person making a request for the information shall be provided with the information free of charge where a public authority fails to comply with the time limits specified in Sec. 7(1).  {Sec. 7(6)}

Bullet (5):- Some State Governments have prescribed it’s own method of payment under this act which is specific in the mode of payment and amount of fee as well as the amount of fee paid for making the first appeal. {Sec. 27 to make rule}

12        The format of Application: There is no prescribed format of application for seeking information. The application can be made on plain paper. The applicant should mention the address at which the information is required to be sent.   However, practically some states (provinces) having some specific format for RTI and its kind enable officer bearers for smooth execution of information.   RTI application is also available in the market to obtain ain information under this act.  However, some of the formats are given as :

               

               (RTI for in Hindi )                                              (RTI format for First Appeal)

Accordingly,  RTI format can be made in English also.  Form ‘A’, Form ‘B’ for acknowledgement, Form‘C’ for additional fee information,  Form ‘D’ for PIO to provide information, Form ‘F’ to reject information, Form ‘G’ first appeal & Form ‘E’ for Second appeal.

Bullet (6):-  It is better to use Hindi language and Hindi format of RTI while making communication with Hindi states as state government offices prefer to work in Hindi or it’s  regional language.

Bullet (7): The information seeker is not required to give reasons for seeking information except 

                   those that is necessary for contacting him.{Sec. 6(2)}

13        Time Period for supply of Information: In normal course, information to an applicant shall be supplied within 30 days from the receipt of application by the public authority. If the information sought concerns the life or liberty of a person, it shall be supplied within 48 hours.   In this connection,  the maximum time (from the receipt of application) which may be taken to dispose off the applications in different situations is/are tabulated as under: {Sec. 7}

S. No	Situation	Time limit for disposing off applications
01	Supply of Information in normal course	30 days
02	Supply of information if the application is received through APIO	05 days shall be added to the time period indicated  at S.No. 01. (35 days)
03	Supply of information if it concerns the life or liberty of a person	48 hrs.
04	Transfer of application to other public authority under Section 6(3) of the Act	05 days.
05	Supply of information if applicable /request is received after transfer from another public authority:
	(a)   In Normal course	(a) Within 30 days of the receipt of the application by the concerned public authority.
	(b) In case the information concerned the life or liberty of a person.	(b) Within 48 hours of receipt of the application by the concerned public authority.
06	Supply of information where the applicant is asked to pay additional fee	The period intervening between informing the applicant abut additional fee and the receipt of such fee by the public authority shall be excluded for calculating the period of reply.
07	Supply of information by organizations specified in the Second Schedule:
	(a) If information relates to allegations of violation of human rights (After approval of the Central Information Commission)	(a) 45 days from the receipt of application.
	(b) In case information relates to allegations of corruption	(b) Within 30 days of the receipt of application.

14        Supply of Information: The answering Public Information Officer should check whether the information sought or a part thereof is exempt from disclosure under Section 8 or Section 9 of the Act. Request in respect of the part of the application which is so exempt may be rejected and rest of the information should be provided immediately or after receipt of additional fees, as the case may be. {Sec. 7}

Where a request for information is rejected, the Public Information Officer should communicate to the person making the request—

(i) the reasons for such rejection;

(ii) the period within which an appeal against such rejection may be preferred; and

(iii) the particulars of the authority to whom an appeal can be made.

 If additional fee is required to be paid by the applicant as provided in the Fee and Cost Rules, the Public Information Officer should inform the applicant:

(i) the details of further fees required to be paid;

(ii) the calculations made to arrive at the amount of fees asked for;

(iii) the fact that the applicant has a right to make appeal about the amount of fees so demanded;

(iv) the particulars of the authority to whom such an appeal can be made; and

(v) the time limit within which the appeal can be made.

Though there is no hard and fast rule as to when exactly intimation about additional fees is to be given to the applicant, such intimation should be given soon after receipt of RTI application.

Bullet (8) :-  The Central Public Information Officer or State Public Information Officer, as the case may be, may seek the assistance of any other officer as he or she considers it necessary for the proper discharge of his or her duties. {Sec. 5(4)}

Bullet (9) :- Any officer, whose assistance has been sought under sub-section (4) of Section 5, shall render all assistance to the Central Public Information Officer or State Public Information Officer, as the case may be, seeking his or her assistance and for the purposes of any contravention of the provisions of this Act, such other officer shall be treated as a Central Public Information Officer or State Public Information Officer, as the case may be. {Sec. 5(5), RTI Act 2005}.

15        Supply of Part Information by Severance : Where a request is received for access to information which is exempt from disclosure but a part of which is not exempt, and such part can be severed in such a way that the severed part does not contain exempt information then, access to that part of the information/record may be provided to the applicant. Where access is granted to a part of the record in such a way, the Public Information Officer should inform the applicant that the information asked for is exempt from disclosure and that only part of the record is being provided, after severance, which is not exempt from disclosure. While doing so, he should give the reasons for the decision, including any findings on any material question of fact, referring to the material on which those findings were based. {Sec. 10}

16        Transfer of Applications {Sec. 6(3)}: The Act provides that if an application is made to a public authority requesting for an information, which is held by another public authority; or the subject matter of which is more closely connected with the functions of another public authority, the public authority, to which such application is made, shall transfer the application or relevant part of it to that other public authority within five days from the receipt of the application.  The public authority should sensitize its officers about this provision of the Act lest the public authority is held responsible for delay.

If a person makes an application to a public authority for information, a part of which is available with that public authority and the rest of the information is scattered with more than one other public authorities, in such a case, the PlO of the public authority receiving the application should give information relating to it and advise the applicant to make separate applications to the concerned public authorities for obtaining information from them. If no part of the information sought, is available with it but is scattered with more than one other public authorities, the PlO should inform the applicant that information is not available with the public authority and that the applicant should make separate applications to the concerned public authorities for obtaining information from them. However, if the details of public authorities who may have the information sought by the applicant are available with the PIO, such details may also be provided to the applicant.

If a person makes an application to a public authority for some information which is the concern of a public authority under any State Government or the Union Territory Administration, the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) of the public authority receiving the application should inform the applicant that the information may be had from the concerned State Government/UT Administration. Application, in such a case, need not be transferred to the State Government/UT Administration.

17        Information Exemption from disclosure {Sec. 8 & 9}: Sub-section (1) of section 8 and section 9 of the Act enumerate the types of information which is exempt from disclosure. Sub-section (2) of section 8, however, provides that information exempted under sub-section (1) or exempted under the Official Secrets Act, 1923 can be disclosed if public interest in disclosure overweighs the harm to the protected interests.  

The information which, in normal course, is exempt from disclosure under subsection (1) of Section 8 of the Act, would cease to be exempted if 20 years have lapsed after occurrence of the incident to which the information relates. However, the following types of information would continue to be exempt and there would be no obligation, even after lapse of 20 years, to give any citizen-

(i) Information, disclosure of which would prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security, strategic, scientific or economic interest of the State, relation with foreign state or lead to incitement of an offence;

(ii) Information, the disclosure of which would cause a breach of privilege of Parliament or State Legislature; or

(iii) cabinet papers including records of deliberations of the Council of Ministers, Secretaries and other Officers subject to the conditions given in proviso to clause (i) of sub-section(1) of Section 8 of the Act.

18        Third Party Information: Third party in relation to the Act means a person other than the citizen making a request for information. The definition of third party includes a public authority other than the public authority to which the request has been made. {Sec. 11(1)}

19        Disclosure of Third Party Information: Information including commercial confidence, trade secrets or intellectual property, the disclosure of which would harm the competitive position of a third party, is exempt from disclosure. Such information shall not be disclosed unless the competent authority is satisfied that larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information.

If an applicant seeks any information which relates to or has been supplied by a third party and that third party has treated that information as confidential, the Public Information Officer shall consider whether the information should be disclosed or not. The guiding principle in such cases is that except in the case of trade or commercial secrets protected by law, disclosure may be allowed if the public interest in disclosure outweighs in importance any possible harm or injury to the interests of such third party. However, the Public Information Officer would have to follow the following procedure before disclosing such information.

If the Public Information Officer intends to disclose the information, he shall within five days from the receipt of the application, give a written notice to the third party that the information has been sought by the applicant under the RTI Act and that he intends to disclose the information. He shall request the third party to make a submission in writing or orally, regarding whether the information may be disclosed. The third party shall be given a time of ten days, from the date of receipt of the notice by him, to make representation against the proposed disclosure, if any.

The Public Information Officer shall make a decision regarding disclosure of the information keeping in view the submission of the third party. Such a decision should be taken within forty days from the receipt of the request for information. After taking the decision, the Public Information Officer should give a notice of his decision to the third party in writing. The notice given to the third party should include a statement that the third party is entitled to prefer an appeal under section 19 against the decision.

The third party can prefer an appeal to the First Appellate Authority against the decision made by the Public Information Officer within thirty days from the date of the receipt of notice. If not satisfied with the decision of the First Appellate Authority, the third party can prefer a second appeal to the Information Commission. 20. If an appeal has been filed by the third party against the decision of the Public Information Officer to disclose the third party information, the information should not be disclosed till the appeal is decided.  {Sec. 11(2), 11(3) & 11(4)}

20        Appellate Authorities: The first Appellate Authority {Rule 2(C) of Right to Information Rules 2012} has a very important role under the RTI Act, 2005. The independent and judicious examination of appeals by the First Appellate Authorities would lead to higher satisfaction to the appellants. This would, in turn, result in less number of second appeals to the Information Commission.

The information sought by an applicant should either be supplied to him by the Public Information Officer or his application should be rejected within the time prescribed under the Act. If additional fee need be charged from the applicant, timely communication in this regard should be sent to him.

21        First Appeal {Sec. 19 (1)}:  If the applicant does not receive information or decision about the rejection of request or communication about payment of additional fee within the specified time, he can make an appeal to the First Appellate Authority. An appeal can also be made if the applicant is aggrieved by the decision of the Public Information Officer regarding supply of information or the quantum of fee decided by the Public Information Officer. The applicant may prefer the first appeal within thirty days from the expiry of such period or from the receipt of such a decision of the Public Information Officer.

The First Appellate Authority may admit the appeal after the expiry of the period of thirty days if he or she is satisfied that the appellant was prevented by sufficient cause from filing the appeal in time.

A third party can also prefer an appeal to the First Appellate Authority against the order of the Public Information Officer to disclose third party information. Such an appeal shall be made within thirty days from the date of the order.

Bullet (10):- No additional fee is required to be paid while making appeal to Central Information Commission.  However, State governments made provision of fee payment for First appeal.  In this regard it is advised to go through RTI link of the concerned State given in URL URL: http://rti.gov.in/rti/states.asp

22        Disposal of Appeal: While disposing off first appeals, the first Appellate Authorities should act in a fair and judicious manner.  It is very important that the order passed by the first appellate authority should be a detailed and speaking order, giving justification for the decision arrived at.  

If an appellate authority while deciding an appeal comes to a conclusion that the appellant should be supplied information in addition to what has been supplied by the  Public Information Officer, he may either (i) pass an order directing the Public Information Officer to give such information to the appellant; or (ii) he himself may give information to the appellant.   In the first case the appellate authority should ensure that the information ordered by him to be supplied is supplied to the appellant immediately. It would, however, be better if the appellate authority chooses the second course of action and he himself furnishes the information alongwith the order passed by him in the matter.

If, in any case, the Public Information Officer does not implement the order passed by the appellate authority and the appellate authority feels that intervention of higher authority is required to get his order implemented, he should bring the matter to the notice of the officer in the public authority competent to take action against the Public Information Officer.  Such competent officer shall take necessary action so as to ensure implementation of the provisions of the RTI Act.

23        Time Limit for disposal of First appeal: The first appellate authority should dispose off the appeal within 30 days of receipt of the appeal. In some exceptional cases, the Appellate Authority may take 45 days for its disposal. However, in such cases, the Appellate Authority should record, in writing, the reasons for not deciding the appeal within 30 days. {Sec. 19 (6)}

24        Second Appeal {Sec. 19(3)}: If the appellate authority fails to pass an order on appeal within the prescribed period or if the appellant is not satisfied with the order of the first appellate authority as the case may be, he/she may prefer a second appeal with the concerning Information Commissioner (If Office/department belongs to State Government(s), Second appeal shall be made to State Information Commissioner and if Office/Department/authority belongs to Central Government, Second appeal shall be made to Central Information Commissioner) within 90 days from the date on which the decision should have been made by the first appellate authority or was actually received the the appellant.  The appeal made to the Central Information Commission (CIC)/State Information Commission (SIC) should contain the following information:

1              Name and address or the appellant

2.         Name and address of the Central Public Information Officer to whom the application was addressed

3.         Name and address of the Central Public Information Officer who gave reply to the Application

4.         Name and address of the First Appellate Authority Who decided the First Appeal

5.         Particulars of the application

6.         Particulars of the order(s) including number, if any, against which the appeal is preferred

7.         Brief facts leading to the appeal

8.         Prayer or relief sought

9.         Grounds for the prayer or relief  

10.       Any other information relevant to the appeal

11.       Verification/authentication by the appellant. {Rule 8 of Right of Information      Rules, 2013}

            The appeal made to the Central Information Commission/State Information Commission should  be accompanied by the following documents: {Rule 8 of Right to Information Rules, 2012}

(i) a copy of the application submitted to the Central Public Information Officer;

(ii) a copy of the reply received, if any, from the Central Public Information Officer;

(iii) a copy of the appeal made to the First Appellate Authority;

(iv) a copy of the Order received, if any, from the First Appellate Authority;

(v) copies of other documents relied upon by the appellant and referred to in his appeal; and

(vi) an index of the documents referred to in the appeal.

Bullet (11):- An appeal may be returned to the appellant, if it is not accompanied by the documents as specified above as per  rule 8, for removing the deficiencies and filing the appeal complete in all respects.

 Bullet (12):- The Second appeal before Central Information Commissioner (CIC)/State Information Commissioner (SIC) is quasi judicial and if the appellant is not satisfied by the disposal of the second appeal or partly satisfied as the case may be, the appellant is required to knock the door of Supreme Court/concerned  High Court.

Bullet (13):- Application made for the second appeal should be addressed to The Registrar, Central Information Commission in case of CIC and State Information Commissioner of the concerned State and 4 set of the Second appeal should be made. Three sets of the Second appeal are need to be forwarded to CIC/SIC as the case may be and one copy should be retained.

25        Record Retention Schedule and RTI Act 2005: The Act does not require the public authorities to retain records for indefinite period. The records need be retained as per the record retention schedule applicable to the concerned public authority.

26        Assistance Available to Applicant {Sec. 6(b)}: If a person is unable to make a request in writing, he may seek the help of the Public Information Officer to write his application and the Public Information Officer should render him reasonable assistance. Where a decision is taken to give access to a sensorily disabled person to any document, the Public Information Officer, shall provide such assistance to the person as may be appropriate for inspection.

27        Complaints: If any person is unable to submit a request to a Public Information Officer either by reason that such an officer has not been appointed by the concerned public authority; or the Assistant Public Information Officer has refused to accept his or her application or appeal for forwarding the same to the Public Information Officer or the appellate authority, as the case may be; or he has been refused access to any information requested by him under the RTI Act; or he has not been given a response to a request for information within the time limit specified in the Act; or he has been required to pay an amount of fee which he considers unreasonable; or he believes that he has been given incomplete, misleading or false information, he can make a complaint to the Information Commission.

The third party should be given full opportunity to put his case for non-disclosure if he desired that the information should not be disclosed.

28        Designation of Public Information Officer (PIOs) & Assistant Public Information Officers (APIOs) {Sec. 5(1) & 5(2)}: Every public authority is required to designate Public Information Officers in all the administrative units or offices under it. Every public authority is also required to designate Assistant Public Information Officers at each sub-divisional level. The Government of India has decided that Central Assistant Public Information Officers (CAPIOs) appointed by the Department of Posts would act as CAPIOs for all the public authorities under the Government of India.

29        Designation of Appellate Authority {Rule 2(c)}: Sub-section (8) of Section 7 of the RTI Act provides that where a request for information is rejected, the Public Information Officer shall, inter-alia, communicate the particulars of the Appellate Authority to the person making the request. Thus, the applicant is informed about the particulars of the Appellate Authority when a request for information is rejected but there may be cases where the Public Information Officer does not reject the application, but the applicant does not receive a decision within the time as specified in the Act or he is aggrieved by the decision of the Public Information Officer. In such a case the applicant may like to exercise his right to appeal. But in absence of the particulars of the appellate authority, the applicant may face difficulty in making an appeal. All the public authorities should also designate the First Appellate Authorities and publish their particulars alongwith the particulars of the Public Information Officers (PIOs).

30        Compliance of Orders of the Information Commission: The decisions of the Commission are binding. The public authority should ensure that the orders passed by the Commission are implemented. If any public authority or a PIO is of the view that an order of the Commission is not in consonance with the provisions of the Act, it may approach the High Court by way of a Writ Petition.

31        Creation of RTI Cell: Sub-section (1) of Section 5 of the Right to Information Act, 2005 mandates all public authorities to designate as many Public Information Officers as necessary to provide information under the Act. Where a public authority designates more than one Public Information Officer (PIO), an applicant is likely to face difficulty in approaching the appropriate Public Information Officer. The applicants would also face problem in identifying the officer senior in rank to the Public Information Officer to whom an appeal under sub-section (1) of Section 19 of the Act can be made. Therefore all public authorities with more than one PIO should create a RTI Cell within the organisation to receive all the RTI applications and first appeals and to route them to the concerned PIOs/FAAs. Detailed instructions regarding setting up of RTI Cell, its functions and financial assistance in setting up RTI Cell have been issued by the Department.

32        Imposition of Penalty {Sec. 20} :  Where the Central Information Commission or the State Information Commission, as the case may be, at the time of deciding any complaint or appeal is of the opinion that the Central Public Information Officer or the State Public Information Officer, as the case may be, has, without any reasonable cause, refused to receive an application for information or has not furnished information within the time specified under sub-section (1) of section 7 or malafidely denied the request for information or knowingly given incorrect, incomplete or misleading information or destroyed information which was the subject of the request or, obstructed in any manner in furnishing the information, it shall impose a penalty of two hundred and fifty rupees each day till application is received or information is furnished, so however, the total amount of such penalty shall not exceed twenty-five thousand rupees: Provided that the Central Public Information Officer or the State Public Information Officer, as the case may be, shall be given a reasonable opportunity of being heard before any penalty is imposed on him: Provided further that the burden of proving that he acted reasonably and diligently shall be on the Central Public Information Officer or the State Public Information Officer, as the case may be. {Sec. 21(1)}

33        Disciplinary Action against CPIO/SPIO {Sec. 20(2)}: Where the Central Information Commission or the State Information Commission, as the case may be, at the time of deciding any complaint or appeal is of the opinion that the Central Public Information Officer or the State Public Information Officer, as the case may be, has, without any reasonable cause and persistently, failed to receive an application for information or has not furnished information within the time specified under sub-section (1) of section 7 or malafidely denied the request for information or knowingly given incorrect, incomplete or misleading information or destroyed information which was the subject of the request or obstructed in any manner in furnishing the information, it shall recommend for disciplinary action against the Central Public Information Officer or the State Public Information Officer, as the case may be, under the service rules applicable to him.

34        Online RTI: Department of Personnel & Training has launched a web portal namely RTI online with URL www.rtionline.gov.in for all Central Ministries/Departments. This is a facility for the Indian citizens to file RTI applications and first appeals online to all Central Ministries/Departments. The prescribed RTI fees can also be paid online. Reply to the RTI applications and first appeals received online can also be given online by the respective (PIOs/FAAs).

            It is required to make an User ID and Password.  Mode of payment is online only.

35        Supreme Court Judgement(s):

            (a) Namit Sharma Vs Union of India:

(b) Bhagat Singh Vs. Chief Information Commissioner and Ors.

36        High Court Judgement(s):

            (a) Jiju Lukose Vs State of Kerela : Copy of FIR is to be provided through RTI

(b) Suhas Bhand Vs State of Mahrashtra & Anr.

(c) Balkrishna Porwal Vs PIO, Department of Posts

(d) Vansh Sharad Gupta Vs PIO, Legislative Department.

Shahzad Singh Vs Department of Post: Loss of file can’t be made the base  to reject information.

Shri Om Prakash Vs. Land & Building Deptt. GNCTD

Pankaj Trehan Vs Regfistra Cooperative Scoiceites

Union of India Vs Vishvas Bhamburkar

Girish Ramchandra Despande Vs Central Information Commission & Ors.: ITR is personal information

Shri Milap Chorasia Vs CBDT u

Adesh Kumar Vs. Union of India & Ors.

Vijay Kumar Mishra Vs. Central Board of Secondary Education, Patna

37       

Bullet (14):-  A glimpse of RTI Act 2005 is seen in Sec. 74 of the Indian Evidence Act 1872 wherein  it is mentioned that a Public Information Officer is bound to provide information sought by the public about Public documents.   Official documents of Govt. Department/Office are treated as Public documents and the general public got right to access and take copy of it under Sec. 76 of IEA 1872.