Rti Booklet

SUCHNA ADHIKAR MANCH (Regd.
)
KNOW ABOUT RIGHT TO INFORMATION (RTI) ACT, 2005 - USE IT
OUR RIGHT
TO
INFORMATION
BOOKLET FOR CITIZENS
ON
RIGHT TO INFORMATION (RTI) ACT, 2005
SUCHNA ADHIKAR MANCH (Regd.)
www.rti-sam.org
1. S. K. Ahluwalia, IAS (Retd.) Patron 98728-01705
2. Dr. Rajinder Kumar President 98153-21565
3. D.C. Gupta, IDAS (Retd.) Gen. Secretary 98556-05778
4. O.P. Garg Finance Secy. 98155-65675
5. K.S. Bedi Senior Vice President 99889-94651
6. Dr. Baljeet Kaur Vice President 98146-33699
7. K.C. Sharma Vice President 93162-15207
8. Davinder Singh Secretary 94172-54599
9. Navdeep Gupta Legal Advisor & 98145-21530
Press Secretary
10. Lakhwinder Sarin APRO 98762-33266
11. Gopal Singh Executive Member 94178-12899
12. T.C. Bansal Executive Member 98159-05675
13. M.L. Bhanot Executive Member 97813-51271
14. Vinod Kumar Executive Member 98146-46199
15. Dr. N.K. Sharma Executive Member 94633-78416
16. Balwinder Singh Bedi Executive Member 98724-99066
17. Dr. P.S. Goraya Executive Member 98760-81020
18. Dr. Tejbir Singh Sandhu Executive Member 98156-50972
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
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FOREWORD
I am glad to know that Suchna Adhikar Manch (Regd.) is publishing a Guide on the
Right to information. The Right to Information Act, 2005 is the recognition of the peoples Right
to Information which is proclaimed as a fundamental right in our constitution. This Act gives the
citizens Right to Information at par with the members of Parliament and members of State
Legislatures.
The Act aims at bringing transparency in governance and promoting accountability in the
functioning of public authorities. No doubt the citizens have got powerful weapon in their hands
but its responsible use is the need of the hour. Therefore, it is very necessary that Public Information
Officers and people in general and particularly those living in rural areas and those belonging to
unprivileged class of the society should be imparted extensive training for the proper use of this
Act. The extensive use of the Act would increase the participation of the public in the functioning
of our democratic set up.
I have been apprised that Suchna Adhikar Manch (Regd.) has already organized seminars
to make public aware of their right under the Act and now by bringing out a Guide for citizens the
Manch has done a commendable service. This Guide will simplify the usage of the Right to
Information Act, 2005 by the common people.
I appreciate the efforts of the SAM (Regd.) and wish them every success in their en-
deavour.
It is also quite appreciable that this Guide-Booklet will be distributed free of cost to the
general public by the Manch.
12th May, 2010
Kulbir Singh
State Information Commissioner, Punjab,
Chandigarh
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S. K. Ahluwalia Regional Project Director
IAS (Retd.) Regional Centre, MGSIPAP,
Patiala
MESSAGE
I t is a matter of proud privilege to note that Suchna Adhikar Manch (Regd.), Patiala
has published a booklet on the subject of Right to Information Act, 2005 for free distribution
to the public. I think this is a noble cause for creating a sense of awakening in the general masses
regarding the act. The Manch deserves appreciation for pursuit of noble ideals in providing a
Forum to enable citizens to secure access to information under the control of Public Authorities
in order to promote transparency and accountability in working of every public authority. I wish
all the success to the Manch.
S. K. Ahluwalia
IAS (Retd.)
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6th May, 2010
BOOKLET FOR CITIZENS
ON
RIGHT TO INFORMATION (RTI) ACT, 2005
OBJECT OF THE RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT
The basic object of the Right to Information Act, 2005 is to empower the citizens, promote
transparency and accountability in the working of the Government, contain corruption and make
our democracy work for the people in real sense. This act is a big step towards making the
citizens informed about the activities of the Government.
RTI ACT, 2005 received the assent of the President of India on 15-06-2005 but full Act
came into force on 12th October, 2005
RIGHT TO INFORMATION UNDER THE ACT
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
(i) inspection of work, documents and records
(ii) taking notes, extracts or certified copies of documents or records
(iii) taking certified samples of material held by the public authority
(iv) taking copies of file notings
This act gives the citizens a Right To Information at par with the Members of Parlia-
ment and the Members of State Legislatures. According to the act, the information
which can not be denied to the Parliament or a State Legislature, shall not be denied
to any person.
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 from which the
information may be e-mailed or transferred to diskettes etc.
The information should ordinarily be provided in the form in which it is sought.
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SUPPLY OF INFORMATION TO NGO/ASSOCIATIONS ETC.
The Act gives the right to information only to the citizens of India. 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
Corporation etc.
RIGHT TO INFORMATION VIS--VIS OTHER ACTS
As per Section 22 of RTI Act 2005, this act would over-ride all existing Acts including official
Secrets Act, 1923.
WHAT IS INFORMATION
Under this Act, the word 'Information' has been given a very wide meaning. Any material in any
form including records, documents, memos, e-mails, opinions, advices, press releases, circulars,
orders, log books, contracts, reports, papers, samples, models, data material held in any elec-
tronic form. It also includes information relating to any private body which can be assessed by
a public authority under any other law for the time being in force.
WHAT IS A PUBLIC AUTHORITY
A 'Public Authority' means any government office, department or institution constituted-
a) by or under the constitution
b) by any other law made by Parliament or a State Legislature
c) by notification issued or order made by the Central Government or a State Government.
d) The bodies owned, controlled, or substantially financed by the Central Government or
a State Government and non-government organizations substantially financed by the
Central Government or State Government also fall within the definition of Public
Authority.
The financing of the body or the NGO by the government may bedirect or indirect.
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PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER (PIO)
Public Authorities have designated some of its officers as Public Information Officer. They are
responsible to provide information to a person who seeks information under the RTI Act.
ASSISTANT PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER (APIO)
These are the officers at 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.
FIRST APPELLATE AUTHORITY (FAA)
First Appellate Authority means an authority so appointed or notified by Public Authority under
the Act and includes a Head of Office or Head of Public Authority if no First Appellate Authority
is appointed or notified. First Appellate Authority shall be senior in rank to the Public
Information Officer. Any person who does not receive a decision within the time specified or
is aggrieved by a decision of PIO, may file an appeal to First Appellate Authority within 30 days
from the expiry of such period or from the receipt of such a decision.
ASSISTANCE AVAILBLE TO THE PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER
The Public Information Officer may seek the assistance of any other officer for the proper dis-
charge of his duties. The officer whose assistance is so sought by the Public Information Officer,
would render all assistance to him. Such an officer shall be deemed to be a Public Information
Officer and would be liable for contravention of any provision of the act the same way as any other
Public Information Officer. It will remain the responsibility of the officer who has been des-
ignated as Public Information Officer by the Public Authority to provide the information
to the applicant or reject the application for any reasons.
This act enables the Public Information Officer to seek assistance of any other officer to
enable him to provide information to the information seeker but it does not give him
authority to designate any other officer as Public Information Officer and direct him to
send reply to the applicant. In nut shell, if the officer whose assistance is sought by the Public
Information Officer, does not render necessary help to him, the Information Commission may
impose penalty on such officer or recommend disciplinary action against him the same way as
the Commission may impose penalty on or recommend disciplinary action against the Public
Information Officer.
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SUO MOTU DISCLOSURE
Every Public Authority is duty bound to maintain and publish the following type of information
on its own for the convenience of the public:
(i) the particulars of the organization, its functions and duties
(ii) the powers and duties of its officers and employees
(iii) the procedure followed in decision making process
(iv) the norms set by it for the discharge of its functions
(v) the rules, regulations, instructions, manuals and records held by it
(vi) directory of its officers and employees and the monthly remuneration received by
each of its officers and employees
(vii) budget allocation to each department
(viii) names, designation and details of the PIOs etc.
(Refer Section 4 of the Right to Information Act, 2005 for further details)
The publication of information as referred to in Section 4 (1) (b) is not optional but it is a
Statutory requirement. Every Public Authority shall update the information every year.
METHOD OF SEEKING INFORMATION
a) A citizen who desires to seek some information under the act from a Public Authority
shall send 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
application is being made.
b) the application must accompany such fee as has been prescribed from time to time.
c) an applicant making request for information shall not be required to give any
reason for requesting the information or any other personal details except
those that may be necessary for contacting him.
d) a person who is of Below Poverty Line (BPL) is not required to pay any fee.
However, he should submit a proof in support of his claim to belong to the Below
Poverty Line
e) where the applicant is required to pay further fee towards the cost of providing the
information, details of further fee shall be intimated to the applicant by the PIO. The
period intervening between the dispatch of the said intimation and payment of fees shall
be excluded for the purpose of calculating the period of 30 days for providing information.
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f) the information shall be provided to the person making request for the information free
of charge where a Public Authority fails to comply with the time limit specified
for providing the information.
g) 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 Rs.5/-
for each subsequent hour (or fraction thereof) shall be charged.
h) the Information shall ordinarily be provided in the form in which it is sought for
FORMAT OF APPLICATION
There is no prescribed format of application for seeking information. The application can
be made on a plain paper. The application should, however, have the name and complete
postal address of the applicant.
ACCEPTANCE OF FEE
The applicant can make payment of the fee in the following manners:
(i) in cash (remember to take a receipt)
(ii) by Demand Draft
(iii) banker's cheque
(iv) Indian Postal Order payable to the Accounts Officer of the Public
Authority
(v) Money Order (only in some States)
MANNER OF SUBMISSION OF APPLICATION
An applicant can send the application:
(a) By Post
(b) Through Electronic Means
(c) Can deliver it personally at the office of the PIO of the Public Authority
(d) Can deliver it personally at the office of the Assistance Public Information Officer
(e) Can deliver it at Suvidha Centers wherever established
(f) Can deliver it personally to designated APIO's by Department of Posts in various post
offices (applications pertaining to Central Government Offices only). The list of post
offices is available on website 'http:/www.indiapost.gov.in/rtimanual16a.html'
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30 days
48 hours
a) within 30 days of the receipt
of the application by the
concerned public authority
b) within 48 hours of receipt
of the application by the
concerned Public Authority
b) within 30 days of the receipt
of application
Should be provided after
following the procedure given
in Section 11 of the RTI Act
The period intervening between
informing the applicant about
additional fee and the payment
of fee by the applicant shall be
excluded for calculating the
period of reply
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MAXIMUM TIME LIMIT TO DISPOSE OFF THE APPLICATIONS IN DIFFER-
ENT SITUATIONS
Sr. Situation Time Limit for disposing
No. off applications
1. Supply of Information in normal course
2. Supply of Information if it concerns the life or
liberty of a person
3. Supply of Information if the application is
received through APIO
4. Supply of Information if application/ request is
received after transfer from another Public
Authority
a) in normal course
b) in case the information concerns the life
or liberty of a person
5. Supply of Information by organizations
specified in the Second Schedule
a) if information relates to allegations of
violations of Human Rights
b) in case information relates to
allegations of corruption
6. Supply of Information if it relates to third
party and third party has treated it as
confidential
7. Supply of Information where the
applicant is asked to pay additional fee
5 days shall be added to the
time period indicated at serial
number 1 & 2
a) 45 days from the receipt
of application
REJECTION OF A REQUEST TO PROVIDE INFORMATION
Where a request has been rejected to provide the information for any of the reasons specified
under Section 8 & 9 of the Act, the Public Information Officer shall 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 Appellate Authority
INFORMATION EXEMPTED FROM DISCLOSURE
The information which, in normal course, is exempt from disclosure under Sub Section (1) of
Section 8 of the Act, has to be provided if an event or a matter has taken place twenty years
before a request is made. However, the following types of information would continue to be
exempt from disclosure and there would be no obligation, even after lapse of twenty years, to
give to 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
(iii) cabinet papers including records of deliberations of the Council of Ministers, Secretaries
and other officers.
Provided that the decisions of Council of Ministers, the reasons thereof, and the material on the
basis of which the decisions were taken shall be made public after the decision has been taken,
and the matter is complete, or over.
Provided further that those matters which come under the exemptions specified in Section 8 shall
not be disclosed.
ASSISTANCE AVAILABLE TO THE APPLICANT
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 shall render him all
reasonable assistance.
Where the applicant is deaf, blind or otherwise impaired, the PIO shall provide
reasonable assistance to enable access to the information including providing such assistance as
may be appropriate for the inspection.
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DEEMED TO HAVE REFUSED THE INFORMATION
If the Public Information Officer fails to give decision on the request for information within the
prescribed period, it shall be deemed that the PIO has refused the request.
TIME PERIOD FOR SUPPLY OF INFORMATION
Information to an applicant shall be supplied within 30 days from the receipt of application by the
Public Information Officer. If information sought concerns the life or liberty of a person, it
shall be supplied within 48 hours of the receipt of the request.
If request for information is received through the Assistant Public Information Officer, the infor-
mation be provided within 35 days of the receipt of the application by the APIO.
TRANSFER OF APPLICATION
Where an application is made to a Public Authority requesting for information which is held by
another Public Authority or the subject matter of which is more closely connected with the
functions of the another Public Authority, such applications or such part of it as may be appropri-
ate shall be transferred to that other Public Authority within five days from the date of
receipt of the application with an intimation to the applicant.
WHAT IS THIRD PARTY
'Third Party' means a person other than the citizen making a request for information and includes
a Public Authority.
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
has been treated as confidential by a third party, the PIO shall within five days from the receipt of
the application is required to 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. The
third party within ten days from the date of receipt of the notice of the PIO is required to make
representation against the proposed disclosure.
The Public Authority shall make a decision regarding disclosure of the information keeping in
view the submission of the third party within forty days from the receipt of the request for the
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information and PIO must give a notice of his decision to the third party in writing. The mechanism
of appeal is available to the third party.
APPEAL
If the information is not supplied to the applicant within the prescribed time schedule or applicant
is aggrieved by a decision of the Public Information Officer, the applicant may prefer an appeal
to the designated First Appellate Authority. Such an appeal should be filed within a period of 30
days from the date on which the limit of 30 days of supplying the information is expired or from
the date on which the information or decision of the Public Information Officer is received. The
Appellate Authority shall dispose of the appeal within a period of 30 days of the receipt of the
appeal or in exceptional cases within a period of 45 days from the date of filing thereof.
Deciding appeals under the RTI Act is a quasi-judicial-function as such the order passed by the
Appellate Authority should be a speaking order giving justification for the decision
arrived at.
If the First Appellate Authority fails to pass an order on the appeal within the prescribed period
or if the Appellant is not satisfied with the order of the First Appellate Authority, he may prefer a
second appeal with the Central Information Commission/State Information Commis-
sion as the case may be within 90 days from the date on which the decision should have been
made by the First Appellate Authority or was actually received by the Appellant.
No fee is payable in first/second appeal.
CONTENTS OF APPEAL TO THE COMMISSION
An appeal to the commission shall contain the following information, namely:-
(i) name and address of the appellant
(ii) name and address of the PIO against the decision of whom the appeal is preferred
(iii) particulars of the order including number, if any against which the appeal is preferred
(iv) brief facts leading to the appeal
(v) if the appeal is preferred against deemed refusal, the particulars of the application
including number and date and name and address of the PIO to whom the application
was made
(vi) prayer or relief sought
(vii) grounds for the prayer and relief
(viii) verification by the appellant
DOCUMENTS TO ACCOMPANY APPEAL
(i) self-attested copies of the orders or documents against which the appeal is being
preferred
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(ii) copies of the documents relied upon by the appellant and referred to in the appeal
(iii) an index of the documents referred to in the appeal
COMPLAINT
It shall be the duty of the Central Information Commission or State Information Commission to
receive and inquire into a complaint from any person-
(i) who has been refused access to any information requested under this act
(ii) who has not been given a response to a request for information with in the time limit
specified in the act
(iii) who has been required to pay an amount of fee which he or she considered unreasonable
(iv) who believes that he or she has been given incomplete, misleading or false information
under this act
No fee is payable for making complaint
PERSONAL PRESENCE OF THE APPELLANT OR COMPLAINANT
The appellant or complainant shall in every case be informed of the date of hearing at least seven
clear days before that date. It is the discretion of the appellant or complainant to be present in
person or through his duly authorized representative on the date of hearing or he may opt not to
be present.
The appellant or complainant may seek the assistance of any person in the process of the appeal
while presenting his points and the person representing him may not be a legal practitioner.
IMPOSITION OF PENALTY
Where the information commission at the time of deciding any complaint or appeal is of the
opinion that the Public Information Officer has without any reasonable cause has not furnished
information within time schedule 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, the commission shall impose a penalty of rupees 250 each day till
application is received or information is furnished. However, the total amount of such
penalty shall not exceed rupees 25,000 .
Penalty imposed on the Public Information Officer will be paid by the Public Information
Officer.
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COMPENSATION
In its decision, the Central Information Commission/State Information Commission has pow-
ers to require the Public Authority to compensate the complainant for any loss or other detri-
ment suffered. The compensation, ordered by the Commission would have to be paid
by the Public Authority.
DECISIONS OF THE COMMISSION
The order of the Commission shall be pronounced in open proceedings and be in writing
duly authenticated by the Registrar or any other officer authorized by the Commission for this
purpose.
The decision of the Central Information Commission or State Information Commission, as the
case may be, shall be binding. If any Information Seeker or a Public Authority or a Public
Information Officer 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.
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PROCEDURE FOR FILING COMPLAINTS AND APPEALS WITH
PUNJAB INFORMATION COMMISSION
The Punjab Information Commission (Management) Regulations, 2010 has come into force
w.e.f. 1st April, 2010. Appeals and complaints filed with the Commission after 01-04-2010 will
be governed by above regulations. The procedure for filing appeals or complaints with the
Commission will be as under :
Appeal or Complaint etc. to be in writing
Every appeal, complaint, application, statement, rejoinder, reply or any other document filed
before the Commission shall be typed or printed or handwritten neatly and legibly and the
language used therein shall be formal and civilized and should not be in any way indecent or
abusive. The appeal shall be presented in three sets and the complaint in two sets.
Contents of Appeal or Complaint
(1) An Appeal or a Complaint to the Commission shall contain the following information,
namely :
(i) Name, address and other particulars of the Appellant or Complainant, as the
case may be
(ii) Address of the Public Information Officer (PIO) or APIO against whom a
Complaint is made and in case of appeal the address of the First Appellate
Authority .
(iii) Particulars of the decision or order, if any, including its number and the date it
was pronounced, against which the Appeal is preferred.
(iv) Brief facts leading to the Appeal or the Complaint
(v) If the Complaint is preferred against refusal or deemed refusal of the information,
the particulars of the application, and name and address of the Public Information
Officer to whom the application was made
(vi) Prayer or relief sought
(vii) Grounds for the prayer or relief
(vii) Verification by the Appelant or the Complainant, as the case may be
(ix) Any other information which may be deemed as necessary and helpful for the
Commission to decide the Appeal or Complaint. In case the Appelant/Com
plainant has alleged deficiency in the information supplied to him, he shall specify
the exact deficiency.
(x) Copies of any communications with Public Authority/PIO made by hte Com
plainant/Appellant and mentioned in his RTI application.
Documents to accompany Appeal or Complaint
Every Appeal or a Complaint made to the Commission shall be accompanied by self attested
copies/photo copies of the following documents, namely :
(i) The RTI Application submitted before the PIO/APIO along with documentary
proof as regards payment of fee under the RTI Act.
(ii) The order, or decision or response, if any, from the PIO/APIO to whom the
application under the RTI Act was submitted.
(iii) The First Appeal submitted before the First Appelate Authority with documentary
proof of filling the First Appeal.
(iv) The Orders or decision or response, if any, from the First Appelate Authority
against which the Appeal is being preferred
(v) The documents relied upon and referred to in the Appeal or Complaint
(vi) A certificate stating that the matters under Appeal or Complaint have
not been previously filed or pending or decided by any of the
Commissioners.
(vii) Copies with an index of the documents referred to in the Appeal or Complaint.
Service of copies of Appeal or Complaint To PIO/FIRST APPELATE AUTHORITY
Before submitting an Appeal or Complaint to the Commission, the Appellant or the Complainant
shall send a copy of the Appeal or Complaint, as the case may be, to the PIO and the Appellate
Authority and shall submit a proof of such service to the Commission.
Filling of Counter Statement by the Public Information Officer or the First Appellate
Authority
After receipt of a copy of the Complaint or Appeal, the Public Information Officer or the First
Appellate Authority or the Public Authority shall file counter statement along with documents, if
any, pertaining to the case. A copy of the counter statement(s) so filed shall be sent to the
Complainant or Appellant by the PIO, the First Appellate Authority or the Public Authority, as
the case may be.
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For any assistance, please contact
PUNJAB
Dr. Rajinder Kumar : 98153-21565
Er. P.L. Gulati : 98152-99819
Prof. K.S. Bedi : 99889-94651
Dr. Baljeet Kaur : 98146-33699
K.C. Sharma : 93162-15207
D.C. Gupta, IDAS (Retd.) : 98556-05778
O.P. Garg : 98155-65675
Navdeep Gupta : 98145-21530
Davinder Singh : 94172-54599
Dr. N.K. Sharma : 94633-78416
Dr. P.S. Goraya : 98760-81020
Lakhwinder Sarin : 98762-33266
Vinod Kumar : 98146-46199
Dr. Tejbir Singh Sandhu : 98156-50972
K.S. Jain : 96468-39967
CHANDIGARH
M. L. Bhanot : 98158-62253
H. S. Pasricha : 98762-22155
HARYANA
K. N. Bakshi, IDAS (Retd.) : 94168-27356
Anshul Bansal : 94164-29792
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CONSTITUTION OF THE CENTRAL INFORMATION COMMISSION
The Central Information Commission shall consist of the Chief Information Commissioner and
maximum ten Central Information Commissioners. The Chief Information Commissioner and
Information Commissioners shall be appointed by the President on the recommendation of
the committee consisting of-
a) the Prime Minister, who shall be the chair person of the committee
b) the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, and
c) a Union Cabinet Minister to be nominated by the Prime Minister
The Chief Information Commissioner and Information Commissioners shall be persons of
eminence in public life with wide knowledge and experience in law, science and technology,
social service, management, journalism, mass media or administration and governance. They
shall not be a member of Parliament or member of the Legislature and should not hold any
other office of profit and are not connected with any political party or carrying on any busi-
ness or pursuing any profession.
TERM OF THE COMMISSION
They shall hold office for a term of five years or upto the age of 65 years which ever is earlier.
The Chief Information Commissioner or an Information Commissioner may, at any time, by
writing under the hand addressed to the President, resign from his office. The salaries and
allowances payable to and other terms and conditions of service of the Chief Information
Commissioner shall be the same as that of the Chief Election Commissioner and in respect of
an Information Commissioner it shall be the same as that of the Election Commissioner.
THE STATE INFORMATION COMMISSION
The State Information Commission shall consist of the State Chief Information Commissioner
and maximum ten State Information Commissioners. The State Chief Information Commis-
sioner and State Information Commissioners shall be appointed by the Governor on the
recommendation of the committee consisting of-
a) the Chief Minister, who shall be the chair person of the committee
b) the Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly, and
c) a Cabinet Minister to be nominated by the Chief Minister
The State Chief Information Commissioner or a State Information Commissioner shall be
persons of eminence in public life with wide knowledge and experience in law, science and
technology, social service, management, journalism, mass media or administration and
governance. They shall not be a member of Parliament or member of the Legislature and
should not hold any other office of profit and are not connected with any political party or
carrying on any business or pursuing any profession.
TERM OF THE COMMISSION
They shall hold office for a term of five years or upto the age of 65 years which ever is
earlier. The State Chief Information Commissioner or an State Information Commissioner
may, at any time, by writing under the hand addressed to the Governor, resign from his
office. The salaries and allowances payable to and other terms and conditions of service of
the State Chief Information Commissioner shall be the same as that of the Election Commis-
sioner and State Information Commissioner will get the salary as that of the Chief Secretary
of a State Government.
BAR OF JURISDICTION OF COURTS
No court shall entertain any suit, application or other proceedings in respect of any order
made under this act and no such order shall be called in question otherwise than by way of
an appeal under this act.
ACT NOT TO APPLY TO CERTAIN ORGANIZATIONS
Nothing contained in this Act shall apply to the intelligence and security organizations speci-
fied in the Second Schedule of the Act but the information pertaining to the allegations of
corruption and Human Rights Violations shall not be excluded from the purview of this Act.
The information shall be provided within 45 days from the date of the receipt of the request.
POWERS OF THE COMMISSION
The Central Information Commission or State Information Commission, as the case may be,
shall, while inquiring into any matter under this section, have the same powers as are vested
in a civil court while trying a suit under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908), in
respect of the following matters, namely:---
a) summoning and enforcing the attendance of persons and compel them to give oral or
written evidence on oath and to produce the documents or things;
b) requiring the discovery and inspection of documents;
c) receiving evidence on affidavit;
d) requisitioning any public record or copies thereof from any court or office;
e) issuing summons for examination of witnesses or documents; and
f) any other matter which may be prescribed
WHAT SHOULD I DO AFTER GETTING THE INFORMATION?
There cannot be one answer for that. It depends upon why you asked for that information
and what type of information is it. Often a lot of things start falling in place just by asking for
information. For instance, you would get your passport or a ration card just by your asking
for the status of your application. In many cases, roads got repaired as soon as the money
spent on its repairs in the last few repairs was asked. So, seeking information and questioning
the government is an important step, which in itself is complete in many cases.
But suppose you expose some corruption or wrongdoing using RTI. Then, you can complain
to vigilance agencies, CBI or even file and FIR. But it is seen that the Government does not
take any action against the guilty even after repeated complaints. Though one can keep up
the pressure on vigilance agencies by seeking to know the status of complaints under RTI,
however, the wrongdoings can also be exposed through media. However, experience has not
been very encouraging at getting guilty punished. But one thing is certain. Seeking information
like this and exposing wrongdoings does improve the future. The officials get a clear message
that the people of that area have become alert and any wrongdoings in future would not
remain hidden as they were in the past. So, their risks of getting caught increase.
HAVE PEOPLE BEEN VICTIMIZED WHO USED RTI AND EXPOSED CORRUP-
TION?
Yes, there have been some instances where people were physically harmed when they sought
information which exposed large scale corruption. But this does not mean that every appli-
cant faces such a threat. Filing application to seek status of your grievance or for knowing
other similar routine matters does not invite any retaliation. It is only when information is likely
to expose bureaucratic-contractor nexus or any kind of mafia that there could be a possibility
of retaliation.
THEN WHY SHOULD I USE RTI?
The entire system has become so rotten that if all of us individually and together do not do
our bit, it will never improve. If we don't do it, who will? Therefore, we have to act. But we
should do that with a strategy and minimize risks. And with experience, there are some
safeguards and strategies available.
Please go ahead and file RTI application for any issue in the first instance. Normally, any one
would not target you immediately. They would first try to cajole you or win you over. So,
the movement you file any inconvenient application, someone would approach you very
politely to request you to withdraw the application. You should gauge the seriousness or the
potential of the person approaching you. If you consider it to be the serious enough, ask
fifteen of your friends to immediately apply to the same public authority asking for same
information. It would be better if these fifteen friends were from different parts of India.
Now it would be very difficult for anyone to target all of your fifteen friends all across the
country. This will ensure that you will get the requisite information and you would have
sufficiently minimized risks.
CAN'T PEOPLE BLACKMAIL GOVERNMENT SERVANTS BY OBTAINING
INFORMATION?
Let us ask ourselves what does RTI do? It just brings truth in public domain. It does not
create any information. It just removes curtains and brings truth in public domain. Is that
bad? When can it be misused? Only if an officer has done something wrong and if that
information comes out in public. Is it bad that wrongdoings within the Government should
become public and be exposed rather than keeping it under wraps. Yes, once such informa-
tion is obtained by someone, he could go and blackmail that officer. But why do we wish to
protect wrong officers. If any officer is blackmailed, he/she has options available under
Indian Penal Code to go register an FIR against a blackmailer. Let that officer do that.
However, we can even avoid the possibility of any individual officer from being blackmailed
by any individual complainant by putting all information, sought by any applicant, on the
website. An applicant is able to blackmail an officer only when that applicant is the only
person who obtained that information and threatens to make that public. But if all informa-
tion sought by him were to be put on website, the possibility of blackmail would be substan-
tially reduced.
WON'T GOVERNMENT GET FLOODED WITH RTI APPLICATIONS AND WON'T
IT JAM GOVERNMENT MACHINERY?
These fears are hypothetical. There are more than 65 countries in the world, which have RTI
laws. There are nine States in India, who had RTI laws, before this law was passed by the
Parliament. None of these Governments were flooded with applications. Such fear ema-
nates from an assumption that the people do not have anything to do and are totally free.
Filing an RTI application and pursuing it takes time, energies and resources. Unless a
person really wants any information, he/she does not file it.
Let us consider some statistics. In Delhi, 14000 applications have been filed in 120 de-
partments in more than 60 months. This means less than 2 applications per Department per
month. Can we say that Delhi Government got flooded with RTI applications? In sharp
contrast, US Government received 3.2 million applications under their RTI Act during
2003-04. This is despite the fact that unlike India, most of the Government information is
already available on the net and there should be much less need for the people to file
applications. But US Government is not contemplating scrapping the RTI Act. On the
contrary they are setting aside more and more resources to implement it. During the same
year, they spent $ 32 million to implement it.
WON'T IT REQUIRE HUGE AMOUNT OF RESOURCES TO IMPLEMENT RTI
ACT?
Any amount of resources required to implement RTI Act would be well spent. Most
countries like the US have realized it and are already spending huge resources to make
their governments transparent. Firstly, all the cost spent on RTI gets more than recovered
the same year by the amounts of money that the Government saves due to reduction in
corruption and malpractices. For instance, there is strong evidence to show how leakages
in drought relief program in Rajasthan and Public Distribution System in Delhi substantially
reduced due to extensive use of RTI.
Secondly, RTI is very essential for democracy. It is a part of our fundamental right. For
people to participate in governance, the pre-requisite is that they first know what is going
on. So, just the way we treat all expenses made on the running of our Parliament as
essential, we have to treat all expenses made in the implementation of RTI as essential.
HOW TO AVOID PEOPLE FROM FILLING FRIVOLOUS APPLICATIONS?
There is no frivolous application. What is frivolous? My pending water connection could
be the most critical issue for me, but it could be treated as frivolous by a bureaucrat. Some
vested interests within the bureaucracy have raised this bogey of frivolous applications.
Right now, RTI Act does not permit any application to be rejected on the ground that it
was frivolous. But some section of bureaucracy want the PIO to be empowered to reject
any application if he feels that it was frivolous. If that happens, every PIO will declare
every other application to be frivolous and reject it. It would mean a death knell to RTI.
APPLICATIONS SEEKING VOLUMINOUS INFORMATION SHOULD BE RE-
JECTED?
If I seek for some information, which runs into a lakh of pages, I would do that only if I
need it because I will have to pay Rs. 2 lakhs for that. This is an automatic deterrent.
Therefore, applications should not be rejected only on this pretext.
Section 6(2) of RTI Act clearly says an applicant cannot be questioned why he/she were
asking for any information. In any case, RTI flows from the fact that people pay taxes, this
money belongs to them and therefore, they have a right to know how their money were
being spent and how they were being governed. So, people have a right to know every-
thing about every sphere of governance. They may or may not be directly related to the

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