Short Note On RTI Act: The ICFAI University, Dehradun ICFAI Law School Assignment For Media Law (LE-428)

The ICFAI University, Dehradun
ICFAI Law School
Assignment for Media Law

(LE-428)
Short Note on RTI Act
Submitted To
Ms. Anushmi Jain
Faculty Associate
ICFAI Law School
Submitted By
Rudresh Kumar Srivastava
B.A.LL.B. (Hons.)
16FLICDDN02047
Salient Features of the RTI Act
 The term Information includes any mode of information in any form of record, document,
e-mail, circular, press release, contract sample or electronic data etc.
 Any citizen (excluding the citizens within J&K) may request information from a ‘public
authority’ (a body of Government or ‘instrumentality of State’) which is required to reply
expeditiously or within thirty days.
 Citizens have a right to: request any information (as defined); take copies of documents;
inspect documents, works and records; take certified samples of materials of work; and
obtain information in the form of printouts, diskettes, floppies, tapes, video cassettes or in
any other electronic mode.
 The Act relaxes the Official Secrets Act of 1889 which was amended in 1923 and various
other special laws that restricted information disclosure in India. In other words, the Act
explicitly overrides the Official Secrets Act and other laws in force as on 15 June 2005 to
the extent of any inconsistency.
 Applicant can obtain Information within 30 days from the date of request in a normal
case. In specific circumstances Information can be obtained within 48 hours from time of
request. If it is a matter of life or liberty of a person..
 Penalty for refusal to receive an application for information or for not providing
information is Rs. 250/- per day but the total amount of penalty should not exceed Rs.
25,000/-
Central Information Commission
The Central Information Commission is a statutory body, set up under the Right to Information
Act in 2005 under the Government of India to act upon complaints from those individuals who
have not been able to submit information requests to a Central Public Information Officer or
State Public Information Officer due to either the officer not have been appointed, or because the
respective Central Assistant Public Information Officer or State Assistant Public Information
Officer refused to receive the application for information under the Right to Information Act.
State Information Commission
State Information Commissions are established under the RTI act of 2005. The Officers are
appointed by the State Government and are officers of the Union or State Public Service
Commission. The State Government’s have powers to set charges for RTI applications and
inspections as they deem fit.
Powers and Functions of Information Commission
 The commission can order inquiry into any matter if there are reasonable grounds.
 The commission has the power to secure compliance of its decisions from the public
authority.
 The commission may recommend steps which ought to be taken for promoting such
conformity, if public authority does not conform to the provisions of this act.
 During the inquiry of a complaint, the commission may examine any record which is
under the control of the public authority and no such record may be withheld from it on
any grounds. In other words, all public records must be given to the commission during
inquiry for examination.
 While inquiring, the commission has the powers of a civil court
 The commission submits an annual report to the central government on the
implementation of the provisions of this act. The central government places this report
before each house of Parliament.
Appeals and Penalties
The penalty can be imposed, if the PIO has:
1. Refused to receive an application

2. Not furnished the requested information within 30 days of receiving the application
3. Malafidely denied the request for information
4. Knowingly given incorrect, incomplete or misleading information
5. Destroyed information which was the subject of the request
6. Obstructed in any manner, in furnishing the information
The amount of penalty shall be Rs. 250.00 per day, till the information is furnished or the
application is received, subject to a maximum of Rs. 25,000.00. The penalty has to be paid by the
PIO from his salary and not by the Public Authority. The CIC or the SIC will give the PIO a
reasonable opportunity to be heard before the penalty is imposed. However the burden of
proving that he acted reasonably shall be on the PIO.
Under Section 20(2) of the RTI Act, the CIC or the SIC can also recommend disciplinary action
as per the service rules applicable to the PIO.
You can make an appeal to the Appellate Authority if:
1. You are aggrieved by the decision made;

2. If no decision was made within the proper time limits;
3. You are a third party consulted during the application process, and you are unhappy with
the decision made by the PIO.
The Applicants who are aggrieved by a decision of a PIO can make an appeal to a departmental
Appellate Authority within 30 days of receiving the reply from the PIO or at the expiry of the
time period within which the information should have been provided by the PIO.
The Right to Information Act lays down provision for the second appeal in cases when you are
unhappy and dissatisfied with the decision given by the First Appellate Authority. Information
Commissions have been set up at the centre and states for hearing such appeals.
A second appeal against a decision of an Appellate Authority to the Information Commission

must be made within 90 days from the date on which the decision should have been made or
from the date a decision was actually received. The Central Information Commission and State
Information Commission have been set up at the centre and state level respectively to hear
complaints and second appeals. You need to send your appeal to the relevant Information
Commission in writing. In matters relating to Central Government public authorities, you need to
send your appeal to the Central Information Commission. For matters relating to State
Government public authorities, you will need to send your appeal to the concerned State
Information Commission. Appeals against Panchayats will be sent to the relevant State
Information Commission.

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The ICFAI University, Dehradun

ICFAI Law School

Assignment for Media Law

Short Note on RTI Act

Central Information Commission

Powers and Functions of Information Commission

Appeals and Penalties

The penalty can be imposed, if the PIO has:

1. Refused to receive an application

You can make an appeal to the Appellate Authority if:

1. You are aggrieved by the decision made;

A second appeal against a decision of an Appellate Authority to the Information Commission

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