Sambhav

Introduction

The Right to Information Act received the approval of the President on June 15, 2005. This act has been introduced to provide the citizens of this country, with a system or a method using which they can access the information under the control of the public authorities. This act has been introduced to promote transparency and accountability in the working of every public authority.

All the citizens of this country have right to information. They have a right to:

1. inspect work, documents, records
2. take notes, extracts or certified copies of documents or records
3. take certified samples of material
4. obtain information in the form of discs, floppies, tapes, video, cassettes or in any electronic mode or through printouts where the information is stored in a computer or in any other device

In simple words, any citizen of this country has a right to take notes, inspect the work or documents, take samples of material and obtain information in any electronic form; from the public authority.

Responsibilities of the Public Authorities

According to RTI Act, every public authority should maintain its records, properly catalogued and indexed. It should computerize all the records which should be computerized. It should also make these documents or records available to the citizens of this country through a network.

Any public authority must publish the following information about itself:

1. the particulars of its organization, functions and duties;
2. the powers and duties of its officers and employees;
3. the procedure followed in the decision making process, including channels of supervision and accountability;
4. the norms set by it for the discharge of its functions;
5. the rules, regulations, instructions, manuals, and records, held by it or under its control or used by its employees for discharging its functions;
6. a statement of the categories of documents that are held by it or under its control;
7. the particulars of any arrangement that exists for consultation with, or representation by, the members of the public in relation to formulation of its policy or implementation thereof;
8. a statement of the boards, councils, committees and other bodies constituted as its part or for the purpose of its advise, and as to whether meetings of those boards, etc. are open to public or the minutes of such meetings are available to public;
9. a directory of its officers and employees;
10. the monthly remuneration received by each of its officers and employees, including the system of compensation as provided in its regulations.
11. the budget allocated to each of its agency, indicating the particulars of all plans, proposed expenditures and reports on disbursements made
12. the manner of execution of subsidy programs, including the amounts allocated and the details of the beneficiaries of such programs
13. the particulars of receipts of concessions, permits or authorizations granted by it
14. details of the information available to or held by it, reduced in an electronic form
15. the particulars of facilities available to the citizens for obtaining information, including the working hours of a library or reading room, if maintained for public use
16. the names, designations and other particulars of the Public Information Officers
17. such other information as may be prescribed and thereafter update these publications every year

Along with the above mentioned points, every public authority must publish all relevant facts while formulating important policies or announcing the decisions which affect public. It should also provide reasons for its administrative or quasi – judicial decisions to the people who are affected by these decisions.

It is the duty of every public authority to provide people with the above mentioned information. The public authorities should publish this information regularly through the Internet or such other means to make this information easily available to the maximum number of people. The public authorities should also consider the cost effectiveness, local language and the most effective method of communication in a particular area so that the information is available to the maximum number of people living in that area at a very low cost.

The Public Information Officers

Every public authority has to designate as many officers as the Central or State Public Information Officers (PIOs) in all the administrative units or offices under it, as may be necessary to provide information to persons requesting for information under this Act. Also, it has to designate the Central and State Assistant PIOs at each sub – divisional and sub – district level, to receive applications for information for forwarding the same to the Central or State PIOs.

It is the duty of the Central and State PIO to assist the person seeking any information. The Central or State PIO may seek the assistance of any other officer in its own or other department to provide information to the person who has asked for the information. Any officer, whose assistance has been sought, is required to assist the Central or State PIO.

If the information seeker submits the application to a wrong department (which does not have the required information), it is the duty of the PIO to forward the application to the correct or required department.

Getting Information Using RTI Act – The Procedure

According to RTI Act, any person who wants to obtain any information under this Act can send an application mentioning the information required, to the Central or State PIO or to the Assistant Central or State PIO. The application can be written by hand or can be written using any electronic means in Hindi or English or in the official language of the area in which the application is being submitted. The person asking for particular information is also required to pay the prescribed fee along with the application. The fee is different for different departments and states. Generally, the fee is between Rs. 10 to Rs. 25. The format of application varies from state to state. Some states have a particular format for these applications; others accept it on a plain sheet of paper.

If the person seeking information is not able to make the request in writing, it is the duty of the PIO to assist that person in reducing the request in writing. The person seeking information is not required to mention the reason for requesting the information. He is also not required to give any personal details except those that are necessary to contact him.

If the information which the information seeker has asked for, is not with the PIO but is with the PIO of some other department, it is his responsibility to forward the application to the appropriate PIO. This transfer of application must be done within five days from the date of receipt of the application. It is the duty of the PIO to inform the person seeking information about such a transfer immediately.

Response from the Public Information Officer

On receipt of a request under this Act, the Central or State PIO must provide the information to the applicant as soon as possible. The time for providing the same must not exceed 30 days. If the request or the application is not according to the format or the applicant has not paid the prescribed fee, the request may be rejected by the PIO. The application may be rejected for a number of reasons which will be mentioned later in this document. The decision of either providing information or rejecting it must be taken by the PIO within 30 days of receipt of the application. In case of rejection of application, the applicant must be informed about the same within 30 days of the receipt of the request. The PIO must give the reason for the rejection and he must also give all the information regarding the appeal which can be made against the rejection. In particular, the PIO must give the period within which the appeal can be made and the particulars of the authority which should be consulted for the same.

If the information required concerns life and liberty of a person, it must be provided within 48 hours of the receipt of the request. If the PIO fails to give a decision on the request for information within the above mentioned time, the PIO should be deemed to have refused the request.

If the applicant is required to pay any further fee, he/she must be informed by the PIO about the same. The details of the fee being charged must also be provided to the applicant. The PIO must request the applicant to deposit that fee. The period of making the request and intimating the applicant must be excluded from the above mentioned period of 30 days. When the information is to be provided in electronic format, the applicant has to pay the prescribed fee for the same. The fee charged in this case must be reasonable and must not be charged from the people who are below poverty line.

The PIO must also provide all information about the rights of the applicant to review the decision taken regarding the amount of the fee charged or the form of access provided including the particulars of the authorities involved and the time limit or the process of the same. In case, the person seeking information is sensorily disabled, the PIO should assist that person to enable access to the information.

If the PIO is unable to follow the time limits, the information must be provided free of cost. Any information must be provided in the form in which it is sought unless it is not possible for the authorities to provide information in such form.

Exemption from Disclosure of Information

Any citizen of India can ask for any information from a public authority except a few which are as follows:

1. information which may affect the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security, strategic, scientific or economic interests of the State, relation with foreign State or lead to encouragement of an offence;
2. information which has been forbidden to be published by any court or law;
3. information which would cause a breach of privilege of Parliament or the State Legislature;
4. information which includes commercial confidence and any trade secrets, the disclosure of which might harm the interests of the third party;
5. information available to a person in a fiduciary (relating to the responsibility to look after someone else’s money in a correct way) relationship;
6. information received in confidence from foreign Government;
7. information which might endanger the life or physical safety of any person or discloses any information given in confidence for law enforcement or security purposes;
8. information which would obstruct the process of investigation or prosecution or apprehension of offenders;
9. cabinet papers including records of deliberations of the Council of Ministers, Secretaries and other officers. The information regarding the decisions taken by the Council of Ministers with the reasons for the decisions must be made public after the decision has been taken and the matter is over;
10. information which might disclose the personal information of any individual. This information can be provided if the PIOs feel that the disclosure of the information is beneficial for the public. Also the information which is made available to the Parliament or State Legislature must not be denied to any person;

In any case, including the exemptions, if the disclosure of the information is beneficial for the public, the PIO can allow the access to the information. The Central or State PIO can reject the application if it involves violation of copyright.
In case, the access to particular information is denied due to the above mentioned reasons, access to a part of information may be provided. In such a case when access to a part of information is provided, the PIO must inform the applicant:

• that only a part of the record requested is being provided;
• the reasons for the decision (including all the details of the decision making process);
• the name and designation of the person giving decision;
• the details of the fee prescribed;
• about his/her rights with respect to review of the decision, the amount of the fee, particulars of the senior officers who can be consulted, time limit, and any other information.

The Third Party Information

A Third Party means a person other than the applicant and includes a public authority. If the PIO intends to disclose the information related to the Third Party (which is confidential), the PIO must inform the Third Party within five days from the receipt of the request that he/she is going to disclose the information or a part of it. The PIO should invite the Third Party to make a submission in writing or orally, regarding whether the information should be disclosed. A statement saying that the Third Party may appeal against the decision taken by the PIO must be included in the notice which is given to the Third Party by the PIO. In case of trade or commercial secrets protected by law, the PIO may disclose the information if it is beneficial for the public. The Third Party must respond back within ten days of the receipt of the notice of the PIO. The PIO must decide whether to disclose the information or not within 40 days of receipt of the application when the Third Party is involved.

References

http://164.100.24.208/ls/righttoinformationact/handbook.htm

http://righttoinformation.gov.in/