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B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 8 Right to Information 2017 Dec Question Paper with Solutions - KSLU

KSLU Solved Question Papers

Right to Information

Previous Year Question Paper with Solution

B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) · Sem 8

2017 Dec Examination

munotes.in

Mumbai

First published on munotes.in on 21 October 2026.

Published by munotes.in, Mumbai.

Model answers written and edited by the munotes.in editorial desk.

Passages from this volume may be quoted, in print, online or by an AI system, with credit: name munotes.in and link to this volume's page. The volume may not be reproduced as a whole. Full terms at munotes.in/content-license.

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The University does not publish an official answer key for this paper. The answers in this volume are model answers, written to show how a full-mark answer is built. They are a study aid, not an authority on what an examiner marked.

The question paper reproduced here is the paper as set by Karnataka State Law University at the 2017 Dec examination.

The Paper as Set

The questions in this volume are the questions asked at the 2017 Dec examination, reproduced as Karnataka State Law University set them, in the order it set them. Long reading passages are shortened to their first and last lines and our summary; the original paper prints them in full. Only the answers are ours. See the original question paper.

Duration 3 hours · Total marks 100 · 13 questions answered

How to use this volume

Solve the paper first, under exam conditions and against the clock. Then read the answers here and mark your own. Reading a solution before attempting the question feels productive and teaches very little, because recognising an answer is not the same as being able to write one.

Read the original question paper

Q1What is Information ? Explain the procedure to obtain information and disposal of information under the Right to Information Act, 2005.[16]

Answer

For full marks, cover: "information" under section 2(f): its parts, the private-body limb, and what falls outside it (V.K. Puri, Khanapuram Gandaiah, Aditya Bandopadhyay); "record" under section 2(i); the "right to information" under section 2(j) and who holds it (section 3); the procedure in order: whom to ask (sections 5(1), 5(2), 6(1)), how to ask (writing, electronic means, language, oral help), fee and poverty waiver (rule 3; section 7(5)), no reasons (section 6(2)), transfer within five days (section 6(3); M.P. Singh), time limits (sections 5(2) proviso, 7(1)), further fees (section 7(3)), third party (sections 7(7), 11); disposal: supply, the form of access, help for the disabled, severance, rejection with reasons, deemed refusal, free supply after delay (sections 7(2), 7(4), 7(6), 7(8), 7(9), 10; Madanlal); a table of time limits.

Part A: what is "information"?

1. The definition. Section 2(f) defines "information" as "any material in any form". It then lists examples: "records, documents, memos, e-mails, opinions, advices, press releases, circulars, orders, logbooks, contracts, reports, papers, samples, models, data material held in any electronic form". The list is illustrative, not complete.

2. Three features stand out.

Form does not matter. Paper, e-mail and electronic data are all covered.
Opinions and advice are included. File notings that record an officer's view are information, not private thoughts.
Private bodies are reached indirectly. The definition also includes "information relating to any private body which can be accessed by a public authority under any other law for the time being in force". A citizen cannot ask a private company directly. He can ask the regulator who holds its returns.

3. "Record". Section 2(i) defines record to include any document, manuscript and file, microfilm and facsimile copies, reproductions of images, and "any other material produced by a computer or any other device".

4. What is not information. The definition covers material that exists, not explanations an applicant wants to extract.

In V.K. Puri v. Central Board of Excise and Customs (CIC/AT/A/2008/00865, 27 November 2008), an officer asked why he had not been given notional promotion. The Central Information Commission held that queries asking for explanations are not "information" under section 2(f). The reasons for a decision are those in the decision or its file. It allowed him to inspect the file instead.
In Khanapuram Gandaiah v. Administrative Officer, (2010) 2 SCC 1, a litigant used the RTI Act to ask why a judge had decided his case in a particular way. The Supreme Court held the application "per se illegal and unwarranted". A PIO is not expected to have material that is not before him, and a judge speaks only through his judgment.
In Central Board of Secondary Education v. Aditya Bandopadhyay, (2011) 8 SCC 497, the Supreme Court held that an evaluated answer book is information, because it records the examiner's opinion. But it also held that the Act gives access only to information that exists. A public authority need not create data or answer hypothetical questions.

Part B: what is the "right to information"?

Section 2(j) defines it as the right to information "accessible under this Act which is held by or under the control of any public authority". It includes four rights:

inspection of work, documents and records;
taking notes, extracts or certified copies;
taking certified samples of material;
obtaining information in diskettes, tapes, video cassettes or any other electronic mode, or as printouts.

Under section 3, "all citizens shall have the right to information", subject to the Act. So the right is a citizen's, it is against public authorities, and it is limited only by the Act's own exemptions.

Part C: the procedure for exercising the right

Step 1: whom to ask. Every public authority must designate Public Information Officers (PIOs) in its offices (section 5(1)). It must also designate Assistant PIOs at sub-divisional or sub-district level to receive applications and forward them "forthwith" (section 5(2)). The request goes to the PIO, or to an Assistant PIO (section 6(1)).

Step 2: how to ask. The request is made "in writing or through electronic means". It may be in English, Hindi or the official language of the area. It must specify the particulars of the information sought. If the applicant cannot write, the PIO must "render all reasonable assistance" to reduce his oral request to writing (proviso to section 6(1)).

Step 3: the fee. Under the Central RTI Rules 2012, the application fee is ten rupees (rule 3). No fee is charged from persons below the poverty line (section 7(5); rule 5).

Step 4: no reasons. The applicant need not give "any reason for requesting the information". He need give only the personal details necessary to contact him (section 6(2)).

Step 5: transfer. The information may be held by another public authority, or be more closely connected with its functions. The request must then be transferred to it "in no case later than five days" (section 6(3)). In M.P. Singh v. Irrigation and Flood Control Department (CIC/SG/C/2009/001374/6496, 20 January 2010), the information was held by the Uttar Pradesh irrigation department. The PIO merely told the applicant so. The Commission held that he should have transferred the application himself, and directed him to do it.

Part D: disposal of the request

1. Time limits. The PIO must decide "as expeditiously as possible, and in any case within thirty days" (section 7(1)). Where the information concerns "the life or liberty of a person", he must give it within forty-eight hours. Five days are added where the request came through an Assistant PIO (proviso to section 5(2)).

2. Further fees. If more fees are due for copies, the PIO must send the applicant the calculation, and the time until payment is excluded (section 7(3)). The intimation must also tell him how to seek review of the fee or form of access.

3. Third party information. If the information relates to a third party who treated it as confidential, the PIO must give that party notice and consider its representation. He must then decide within forty days (sections 7(7) and 11).

4. Supply. Information is given "ordinarily" in the form sought. The exceptions are where that would disproportionately divert resources or harm the record (section 7(9)). A sensorily disabled person must be given help to access it, including help with inspection (section 7(4)).

5. Severance. Where part of a record is exempt, the rest must be given (section 10).

6. Rejection. A request may be rejected only for reasons in sections 8 and 9. The rejection must state the reasons, the time for appeal and the appellate authority's particulars (section 7(8)).

7. Silence. If the PIO does not decide in time, he is "deemed to have refused the request" (section 7(2)). If the information is given after the time limit, it must be free (section 7(6)).

A worked example of poor disposal. In Madanlal v. Public Works Department (CIC/SG/A/2009/002954/6318, 7 January 2010), the applicant was asked for an extra fee of Rs 50 and given an unreadable copy of a drawing. A readable copy came only after his second appeal. The Commission held that the PIO had not given complete information within thirty days and issued him a show cause notice under section 20(1).

Time limits at a glance

Situation	Time
Ordinary request	30 days (section 7(1))
Life or liberty	48 hours (section 7(1) proviso)
Through an Assistant PIO	5 more days (section 5(2) proviso)
Transfer to another authority	Within 5 days (section 6(3))

Situation	Time
Third party information	40 days (section 11(3))
Human rights information from an excluded security agency	45 days, with Commission approval (section 24)

Conclusion. "Information" under section 2(f) means existing material in any form, including opinions and data about private bodies held by regulators. It does not include explanations or reasons the record does not contain. The "right to information" under section 2(j) is a citizen's right to inspect, copy, sample or get electronic copies of what public authorities hold. It is exercised by a simple written or electronic request, with a ten-rupee fee, no reasons and help for those who cannot write. The PIO must transfer misdirected requests within five days and decide within thirty days, or forty-eight hours where life or liberty is involved. He must give the information in the form sought, severing exempt parts, or reject it with reasons. Silence counts as refusal, and late information is free.

B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 8 Right to Information 2017 Dec Question Paper with Solutions

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