Right to Information 2005

The Right to Information Act 2005 provides for setting out the practical regime of Right to Information for citizens to secure access to information under the control of public authorities, in order to promote transparency and accountability in the working of every public authority. The article also provides a template for raising a RTI and appealing the same and all other crucial elements.

Tue Jul 19 2022 | Immigration, Appeal and Others | Comments (0)

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The Act extends to the whole of India except Jammu and Kashmir.

RIGHT TO INFORMATION AND OBLIGATIONS OF PUBLIC AUTHORITIES

Every citizen has right to information.

Every authority needs to maintain all its records in a manner and the form which facilitates the right to information under this Act and also needs to ensure that all the records are computerized and connected through a network all over the country on different systems so that access to such records is facilitated.

Under the provision of this Act every public authority has to make constant endeavor to take steps in accordance with the requirements of the act:

  1. To provide as much information suo motu to the public at regular intervals through various means of communications, including internet, so that the public has minimum resort to use of this Act to obtain information.
  2. The information must be disseminated widely and in such form and manner which is easily accessible to the public.
  3. The information should be disseminated taking into consideration the cost effectiveness, local language and most effective method of communication in that local area and the information should be easily accessible to the extent possible in electronic format with the Central Public Information Officer or State Public Information Officer, as the case may be, available free or at cost of the medium or the print cost as may be prescribed.

DESIGNATION OF THE PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICERS

 Public Authority can designate as many officers as Central Public Information Officers (CPIO) or State Public Information Officers (SPIO) as necessary to provide information to persons requesting for the information under this Act.

 Every Central Public Information Officer or State Public Information Officer deals with the requests from persons seeking information and renders reasonable assistance to the persons seeking such information.

The Central Public Information Officer or State Public Information Officer may seek the assistance of any other officer as he or she considers it necessary for the proper discharge of his/her duties.

DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION CAN BE REFUSED ON THE FOLLOWING GROUNDS

(a) If the disclosure would prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security, strategic or economic interests of the State with foreign state or lead to incitement of an offence;

(b) If the information has been expressly forbidden to be published by any court of law or tribunal or the disclosure of which may constitute contempt of court;

(c) If the information would cause a breach of privilege of Parliament or the State Legislature;

(d) If the information, including commercial confidence, trade secrets or intellectual property, disclosure of which is likely to harm the competitive position of a third party, unless the competent authority is satisfied that larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information;

(e) If the information is available to a person in his fiduciary relationship, unless the competent authority is satisfied that the larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information;

(f) If the information has been received in confidence from foreign Government;

(g) If the information could endanger the life or physical safety of any person or identify the source of information or assistance given in confidence for law enforcement or security purposes;

(h) If the information could impede the process of investigation or apprehension or prosecution of offenders;

(i) Any cabinet paper, including records of deliberations of the Council of Ministers, Secretaries and other officers.

THE CENTRAL AND STATE INFORMATION COMMISSION

 The Central Government, by notification in the Official Gazette, constituted a body to be known as the Central Information Commission to exercise the powers conferred on and to perform the functions assigned to it under this Act.

 Similarly, every state Government by notification in Official Gazette, constitutes a body to be known as the (name of state) Information Commission to exercise the powers conferred on and to perform the functions assigned to it under this Act.

HOW TO OBTAIN INFORMATION

Any person who desires to obtain any information under the Act can make a request in writing or through electronic means in English or Hindi in the official language of the area in which the application is being made, accompanying fee of Rs. 10/- by way of cash against the proper receipt or by demand draft or Bankers cheque (or Indian Postal Order) payable to the accounts Officer of the public authority or as may be prescribed, to:- the Central Public Information Officer or State Public Information Officer as the case may be, of the concerned public authority.The Central Assistant Public Information Officer or State Assistant Public Information Officers, as the case may be.

The Applicant making request for information is not required to give any reason for requesting the information or any other personal details except those that may be necessary for contacting him For providing information, the fee charged is at the following rates: Rupees two for each page (in A4 or A3 size paper) created or copies; Actual charge or cost price of a copy in large size paper; Actual cost or price for samples or models; For inspection of records, no fee for the first hour; and a fee of rupee five for each subsequent hour (or fraction thereof); Where the access to the information is provided in print or in any Electronic format, the applicant is charged fee at the following rates: For information provided in diskette or floppy rupee fifty per diskette or floppy ; For information provided in printed form at the price fixed for such publication or rupees two per page of Photocopy for extracts from the publication.

No such fee is charged from the persons who are below poverty line as may be determined by the appropriate Government.

APPLICATION FORM REQUIRED TO BE FILED FOR GETTING INFORMATION UNDER THE RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT

To

Name

Name of the Unit,

Central Bureau of Investigation

(Complete postal address)

Sub: Information under the Right to Information Act, 2005

Sir,

I am sending herewith an application seeking information under the Right to Information

Act, 2005 as per particulars furnished below:-

Name :

Postal Address :

Telephone No./ :

Mobile Phone No.

Date :

*Subject of information Sought and department concerned :

Application Fee: Rs.10/- (Rs. Ten Only)

Mode of payment : Cash, Demand Draft, Banker's Cheque/IPO

Date:

DD/Banker's cheque should be payable to

New Delhi.

Date of receipt

*Add pages if needed

Signature of applicant

DISPOSAL OF REQUEST

 Under the provision of this Act the Central Public Information Officer or State Public Information Officer on receipt of the request is required to act as expeditiously as possible and in case within thirty days of the receipt of the request, either provide the information on payment of such fee as may be prescribed or may reject the request for any reasons specified in Sec 8 and 9 of the Act.

If the Officers fail to give decision on request for information within the Period specified, the application is deemed to have been refused the request.

FIRST APPEAL

Any person who does not receive a decision within the time specified in sub section (1) or clause (a) of sub section (3) of Section 7 or is aggrieved by a decision of the CPIO or SPIO as the case may be in public authority, within thirty days from the expiry of such period or from the receipt of such a decision prefer an appeal to such officer who is senior in rank to the CPIO or SPIO as the case may be Public authority.

An appeal to the Commission should contain the following information:

  1. Name and address of the appellant;
  2. Name and address of the Central Public Information Officer against the decision of whom the appeal is preferred;
  3. Particulars of the order including number, if any, against which the appeal is preferred;
  4. Brief facts leading to the appeal;
  5. If the appeal is preferred against deemed refusal, the particulars of the application, including number and date and name and address of the Central Public Information Officer to whom the application was made;
  6. Prayer or relief sought;
  7. Grounds for prayer or relief;

Any other information which the Commission may deem necessary for deciding the appeal.

Documents to accompany appeal:

  1. Every appeal made to the Commission shall be accompanied by the following documents, namely:- Self attested copies of the orders or documents against which the appeal is being preferred.
  2. Copies of documents relied upon by the appellant and referred to in the appeal; and An index of the documents referred to in the appeal.
  3. Where an appeal is preferred against an order made by CPIO or SPIO to
  4. disclose third party information , the appeal by the concerned third party
  5. shall be made within thirty days from the date of the order.

SECOND APPEAL

A second appeal against the decision lies within ninety days from the date on which the decision should have been made or was actually received, with the Central Information Commission or the State Information Commission.

  1.  In any appeal proceedings, the onus to prove that a denial of a request was justified is on CPIO or SPIO who denies the request. An appeal should be disposed of within thirty days of the receipt of the appeal or within such extended period not exceeding a total of forty-five days from the date of filing thereof, as the case may be, for reasons to be recorded in writing.
  2. The decision of the Central Information Commission or State Information Commission shall be binding.

No suit, prosecution or legal proceedings shall lie against any person for anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done under the Act or any rules made thereunder.

The provisions of this Act shall have effect notwithstanding anything inconsistent therewith contained in the Official Secrets Act, 1923 and any other law for the time being in force or in any instrument having effect by virtue of any law other than this Act.

No court shall entertain any suit, application or other proceeding in respect of any order made under this Act and no such order shall be called in question otherwise then by way of an appeal under this act.

FORMAT FOR MAKING APPEAL

The Right to Information Act, 2005

Appeal before

Central Information Commission/State Information Commission

Appeal No. ----------------------- Dated ------------------------

[For office use only]

As I am aggrieved by decision/no decision of Central/State Public Information Officer and/or First Appellate

Authority, I hereby file this appeal for your kind decision.

  1. Details of appellant:

1.1 Full Name: ---------------------------------------------------------

1.2. Full Address: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1.3 Phone/Cell No.: ---------------------------------------------------------

1.4 E-mail ID: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  1. Details of Central/State Public Information Officer (CPIO/SPIO):

2.1 Name/Designation: ---------------------------------------------------------

2.2 Full Address: -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2.3 Name of Public Authority: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  1. Details of First Appellate Authority [FAA]:

 

3.1 Name/Designation of the FAA: --------------------------------------------------------------------------

3.2 Full Address of FAA: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  1. Dates of RTI application/first appeal:

 

4.1 To CPIO/SPIO: --------------------------- & mailed on: ----------------------------------------------

4.2 To FAA: ----------------------------- & mailed on: ----------------------------------------------------

  1. Particulars of Decisions:

5.1 Reference No & Date of CPIO/SPIO’s  Decision: -----------------------------------------------------

5.2 Reference No & Date of FAA’s  Decision: -------------------------------------------------------------

5.3 Date/s of personal hearing by FAA: --------------------------------------------------------------------

  1. Dates of receipt of replies by appellant from:

6.1 CPIO/SPIO: -----------------------------------------------------------------

6.2 FAA: -----------------------------------------------------------------

  1. Details of information sought: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  2. Brief facts of the case: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  3. Reasons/grounds for this appeal:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  1. Any other information in support of appeal:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  1. Prayer/relief sought for:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  1. Grounds for prayer/relief sought for:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  1. Personal Presence at hearing: YES / NO: ---------------------------------------------------

 

  1. Declaration:

I hereby state that the information and particulars given above are true to the best of my knowledge and belief. I also declare that this matter is not previously filed with this commission nor is pending with any Court or tribunal or authority.

Place: ------------------------------------------

Date: -------------------------------------------

Signature of appellant

Note: Strikeout whichever not applicable

Select either CPIO (Central Public Information Officer) or SPIO (State Public Information Officer) in your application

INDEX OF APPEAL

 

of Mr ------------------------------------------------------ dated ------------------------ with CIC/SIC

  1. Particulars Page Sr. No. from/ to
  2. Original second appeal
  3. Chronology chart of RTI application
  4. Copy of RTI application dated--------- with its enclosures.
  5. Copy of proof of mailing RTI application
  6. DD/IPO/PS/Cash receipt for filing fees and other charges.
  7. Copy of first appeal dated --------------- with its enclosures
  8. Copy of proof of mailing first appeal
  9. Postal A.D. card/Acknowledgement letter, received from CPIO/SPIO & FAA
  10. Copy of decision of CPIO/SPIO dated ----------------------
  11. Copy of decision of FAA dated ------------------------
  12. Proof of mailing complaint/second appeal to CPIO/SPIO and FAA
  13. Other documents in support of second appeal

Place:

Date:

Signature of appellant/complainant

CHRONOLOGICAL CHART OF RTI APPLICATION

of Mr.---------------------------------------------------- dated ------------------------------------------

  1. Action Date: -----------------------------------------------
  2. Application mailed to ACPIO/CPIO or ASPIO/SPIO on: ---------------------------------------------
  3. Application received by ACPIO/CPIO or ASPIO/SPIO on: ------------------------------------------
  4. Date of receipt of letter for paying charges: -------------------------------------------------------------
  5. Date of remitting charges to CPIO/SPIO: ---------------------------------------------------------------
  6. Date of decision of CPIO/SPIO: --------------------------------------------------------------------------
  7. Date of receipt of decision of CPIO/SPIO by appellant/complainant: -------------------------------
  8. First appeal mailed to FAA on: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
  9. Date of receipt of appeal by FAA: ------------------------------------------------------------------------
  10. Date/s of personal hearing by FAA: --------------------------------------------------------------------
  11. Date of decision of FAA: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  12. Date of receipt of decision of FAA by appellant/complainant: -------------------------------------
  13. Date of Second Appeal/complaint: ----------------------------------------------------------------------
  14. Date of mailing copy of second appeal/ complaint to CPIO/SPIO & FAA: -----------------------
  15. Date of mailing Second Appeal to CIC/SPIO: --------------------------------------------------------

Place: ------------------------------------

Date: -------------------------------------

Signature of appellant/complainant

 

Guidelines for filing second appeal/complaint with CIC/SIC

  1. Fill in the above appeal/complaint form, index and chronological order of progress. If you are Filing an appeal remove the words complaint/complainant. If complaint is being filed, delete words second appeal/appellant
  2. Get it typed in double space.
  3. Get one photocopy of:
  4. Original application under RTI with its enclosures
  5.  First appeal with its enclosures
  6.  Bank demand draft/pay slip/postal order/cash receipt used for paying filing fee of Rs.10/-and other charges
  7. Copy of demand letter of CPIO/SPIO for charges if any
  8.  Postal proof of mailing original application and first appeal
  9.  Postal AD slips/official acknowledgement received from CPIO/SPIO and FAA Decisions of CPIO/SPIO and FAA if received
  10. Arrange all papers as per index and then serially number all papers on right hand side of the top corner. This is one original set of second appeal/complaint.
  11. Prepare additional four sets as above by photocopying.
  12. Sign each page of appeal, index and chronology chart [all five sets].
  13. Self-attest all the photocopies by signing under the word Attested
  14. Send one set by speed/registered/UPC post to each of CPIO/SPIO and FAA and attach photocopy of proof of mailing to the original, extra copy of second appeal/complaint and your copy after filling details in index/chronology chart.
  15. Avoid courier services.
  16. Retain one set for your record and reference, with proof of mailing and AD received from CIC/SIC/CPIO/FAA for having received second appeal/complaint.
  17. If postal AD card is not received or acknowledgement letter is not received from CIC within 15 days of mailing, it is better to send a copy by speed post of only second appeal/complaint [without enclosures] with a request to trace the same at CIC/SIC. Photocopy of registered post receipt may also be mailed to CIC/SIC.
  18. You can consult local NGO/RTI activist for filing first or second appeal to have better results.
  19. Services are generally free.

PENALTIES

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:

  1.  refused to receive an application for information or
  2. has not furnished information within the time specified under sub-section (1) of section 7 or malafidely denied the request for information or
  3.  knowingly given incorrect, incomplete or misleading information or
  4.  destroyed information which was the subject of the request or
  5.  obstructed in any manner in furnishing the information,

it shall impose a penalty of two hundred and fifty rupees each day till the application is received or information is furnished,  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 Public Information Officer or the State Public Information Officer, as the case may be.

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

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