RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT, 2005

Salient Features of RTI Act, 2005

Statement of Objects and Reasons
Preamble of the Act
Important Provisions
 Section 1 – Short title, extent ant commencement
 Section 2 – Definitions 2(f) “information”
 2(h) “public authority”
 2(i) “record”
 2(j) “right to information”
 2(n) “third party”

RTI AND OBLIGATIONS OF PUBLIC AUTHORITIES ›

Sec. 3 – Right to Information
Sec. 4 – Obligations of Public Authorities
Sec. 5 – Designation of Public Information Officers ›Sec. 6 – Request for obtaining
information
Sec. 7 – Disposal of Request
Sec. 8 – Exemption from disclosure of information ›Sec. 9 – Grounds for rejection
to access in certain cases ›Sec. 10 – Severability
Sec. 11 – Third party information
THE CENTRAL INFORMATION COMMISSION
 Sec. 12 – Constitution of central Inf – Term
of office and conditions of service
 Sec. 14 – Removal of Chief Information Commissioner or Information
Commissioner
THE STATE INFORMATION COMMISSION
 Sec.15 – Constitution of State Information Commission
 Sec. 16 – Term of office and conditions of service
 Sec. 17 – Removal of State Chief Information Commissioner or State
Information Commissioner
POWERS AND FUNCTIONS OF THE INFORMATION COMMISSIONS, APPEAL AND
PENALTIES
 Sec. 18 – Powers and Functions of Commission
Salient Features of RTI Act, 2005
 Replaced Freedom of Information Act, 2002.
 RTI relaxes restrictions placed by Officials Secrets Act, 1923.
 3 Levels – Public Information Officer, First Appellate Authority and
 State Information Commission (SIC).
 Time period for Public Expeditiously or within 30 receipt by public
authority.
 Maximum time gap for 1st Appeal: 30 days since limit of supply of
Information is expired.
 Time for Appellate Authority: Within 30 days or in exceptional 45 days in
receipt by the public authority.
 Maximum time gap for 2nd Appeal: 90 days since limit of supply of
information is expired.
 RTI act also asks for computerization and proactively publish Information.
 Bodies applicable under RTI: Constitutional bodies at Centre and State
(Legislature, Executive, and Judiciary), bodies / NGOs owned / financed by
government, privatized public utility companies.
 Bodies excluded under RTI: Central Intelligence and Security Agencies,
agencies of State specified through notification. The exclusion is not
absolute.
 Central Information Commission shall consists of: 1 Chief Information
Commissioner and up to 10 Central Information Commissioner.
 The Chief Information Commissioner shall hold office for a term of fine
years from the date on which he enters upon his office and shall not be
eligible for re-appointment.
 The Act has 31 sections and 6 Chapters.
Statement of Objects and Reasons
 Ensure greater and more effective access to Information
 To make the Freedom of Information Act, 2002 more progressive
 To carry out important changes recommended by National Advisory
Council.
 Important changes include:
 Establishment of Appellate Machinery with investigating powers to review
decisions of PIO.
 Penal Provisions for failure to provide information.
 To ensure maximum disclosure and minimum exemptions.
  To Repeal the Freedom of Information Act, 2002.
 To recognize Right to Information ensured under Art. 19 of Constitution.

RIGHT TO INFORMATION AND OBLIGATIONS OF PUBLIC AUTHORITIES

 Sec. 3 – Right to Information: Every citizens shall have RTI.
 Sec. 4 – Obligations of Public Authorities: Every public authority shall-
 Maintain all its records duly catalogued and indexed – records should be
appropriate – computerized – network all over country – to facilitate
access.
RTI and Obligations of Public Authorities…
 Sec. 5 – Designation of Public Information Officers (PIOs):
 Every public authority shall within 100 days of enactment, designate as
many officers as Central Public Information Officers (CPIO) or State Public
Information Officers (SPIO)– in all administrative units / offices.
 Every public authority shall designate an officer within 100 days of
enactment – at each sub-divisional level or other sub-district level as a
Central Assistant Public Information Officers (CAPIO) or State Assistant
Public Information Officers (SAPIO)

RTI and Obligations of Public Authorities

Sec. 6 – Request for obtaining Information:

Sec. 6 deals with obtaining information by a person who makes a request in-
 Writing or
 Through electronic means
 In English or
 Hindi or
 In official language of the area,
 With prescribed fees,
 To the CPIO or SPIO of concerned public authority
RTI and Obligations of Public Authorities…
 Sec. 7 – Disposal of Request:
 CPIO or SPIO shall within 30 days of receipts of requests either provide the
information on payment of such fees as may be prescribed or reject it for
any of the reasons specified in Sec. 8 and 9.
Disposal of Request…
 If the CPIO/SPIO fails to give decision – it shall be deemed to have been
refused the request.
 If further fees – intimation to applicant it – asking to deposit it -time taken
for this is excluded from the 30 days period.
 Fees in any form shall be reasonable.
 No fees from BPL applicants.
 If PIO fails to provide information within 30 days – he has to furnish it free
of cost
 FORM – B

Intimation of rejection
To,
Name of the applicant. Address
Sir,
The undersigned regrets to express his inability to furnish the information
asked for on account of the following reasons:
1. It comes under the exempted category covered under section 8 and 9 of
the Act.
2. The information sought by you pertains to judicial proceedings which can
be obtained under existing Bombay High Court Rules.
3. Your application was not complete in all respects.
4. The information is contained in published material available to the
public.
5. You did not pay the prescribed fee for providing the information within
the prescribed time. 6. The information sought is prohibited as per section
24 (4) of the Act.
7. The information would cause unwarranted invasion of the privacy or any
person.
8. The information as sought by you is available on our website …………………
You may download the information.
9. For any other reason (please specify)
_____________________________________________________________
__________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
__________________________________

However, if you feel aggrieved by the above said refusal you may file an
appeal before the ________________ within 30 days of the receipt of this
letter

Place: Name and Designation of

Date: Public Information Officer
RTI and Obligations of Public Authorities…
 Sec. 8 Exemption from Disclosure of Information: › there shall be no
obligation to give any citizen-
 Information – affecting sovereignty and integrity of India – Security,
Strategic, Scientific
 Economic interest of State - Relation with foreign State – or lead to
incitement of an offence.
 Information expressly forbidden to be published by Court or Tribunal – or
disclosure may constitute contempt of Court.
 Information disclosure may cause breach of privilege of Parliament or State
Legislature.
RTI and Obligations of Public Authorities
 Sec. 9 – Grounds for Rejection to access in certain cases:
Sec. 9 says that, if a request for information involves an infringement of copyright
subsisting in a person other than a State, it may be rejected.
 Sec.10 – Severability:
In part of the information exempted from disclosure can be separated, it may be
disclosed – provided PIO shall inform the applicant by saying-
 Only part information is disclosed
 Reasons for the decision
 The name and designation of person giving decision
 Details of fees calculated
 Right to review of decision regarding non-disclosure of the exempted
portion
POWERS AND FUNCTIONS OF THE INFORMATION COMMISSION APPEAL AND
PENALTIES…
Sec. 20 – Penalties:
This section deals with penalties under this Act for guilty person. › If any CPIO or
the SPIO, has without any reasonable cause,
 refused to receive an application for information or
 has not furnished information within time or
 malafidely denied the request, or
 knowingly given incorrect, incomplete or
 misleading information or
 destroyed information which was the subject matter of information
or
  Obstructed in furnishing the information,
 A penalty of Rs. 250/- each day till application is received or
information is furnished
 However,, the total of such penalty shall not exceed Rs. 25,000/-

Duties and Responsibilities of APIOs

Receive applications for information or appeals and forward it to:
 Public Information Officer
 Appellate Officer
 Information Commission as the case may be
Duties and Responsibilities of PIOs
 Accept requests for Information
 Render reasonable assistance to citizens requesting for information
 Reduce oral request into writing › Assist seniority disabled persons
 Seek assistance of any other officer where necessary
 Such officer shall be treated as PIOs
 Disposal of Requests
 Communicate the right to appeal and the details of the Appellate
Authority to whom the applicant can appeal.
Provide Information
The PIO on receipt of a request shall, as expeditiously as possible, and in any case
within 30 days of the receipt of the request, either provide the information or
reject the request for any of the reasons specified in sections 8 and 9.
Accepting Requests for Information
PIOs/APIOs shall accept request in writing/electronic means:
 In English, Hindi or official language of the area
 Accompanied by prescribed fees
 With contact details (Name/Address)
 With particulars of information specified
 No Fees for persons Below Poverty Line
 Reasons for seeking information not required
Disposal of Request
 Render reasonable assistance to the applicant by reducing the oral
request to writing
 Scrutinize the application received
 Register the application in the Inward Register
 Issue acknowledgement to the applicant
Disposal of Requests
 Intimate to the applicant the further fee, representing the cost of
providing the information, to be paid along with its calculations.
 Also intimate the modalities of deposit of fee, the applicant’s right
for appeal against the calculation.
 The period intervening the dispatch of the said intimation and
payment of fees shall be excluded for the purpose of calculating the
30 day period.
Disposal of Requests
 Wherever required, provides assistance to citizens for inspection of
works, materials, taking samples etc.
 Retains record on each application, disposal etc. so that materials as
required may be furnished to appellate authorities in case
first/second appeal is preferred.
Severability
 Access may be provided to a part of the record which does not
contain any exempted information and which can reasonably be
severed from any part that contains exempt information
 The PIO shall give a notice to the applicant informing about partial
disclosure of information along with reasons, fees, and details of
appellate authority
Transfer of Requests
 Transfers the application / part of it to another public authority, if
required.
 Transfer the application within five days of receipt of application
 Informs the applicant about such transfers.
 Makes necessary entries in the Register being maintained
Some Important Tips for PIOs
The PIOs has to keep the following in mind:
 Information which cannot be denied to the Parliament or the State
Legislature shall not be denied to any citizen;
 Notwithstanding the exemptions permissible under S. 8(1), access to
information is to be allowed, if public interest in disclosure outweighs the
harm to the protected interest;
 The Right to Information Act, 2005 overrides the Official Secrets Act, 1923;
 On the year of 2020, this office and all its sub-ordinate offices have
implemented proactive disclosure of RTI in both English and Odia on the
website https://www.rtiodisha.gov.in/ for making RTI, an user friendly and
easily access site.
 Moreover the C & T (T) Department has intimated vide letter no. 14123
dated 10.12.2021 regarding withdrawal of submission of hard copies of
application which have already been filed online.
Conclusion
The bottom line is RTI is a very useful and perhaps a much needed act for India as
its democracy is falling apart under the weight of corruption.