Appeals and Penalties under the RTI Act
Chapter Sixty-Three
Syllabus topic 4.4, "Appeal and Penalties"
Pages 382 to 388 of 396
In one line
A citizen refused information appeals first inside the department and then to the Information Commission, and the officer who refused without reasonable cause pays two hundred and fifty rupees a day out of his own pocket.
In the words a student can write in an exam: section 19 provides a two tier appeal. A first appeal lies within thirty days to an officer senior in rank to the Public Information Officer in the same public authority, and a second appeal lies within ninety days to the Central or State Information Commission. In any appeal the burden of proving that a denial was justified lies on the officer who denied it. Section 18 provides a separate complaint jurisdiction. Section 20 empowers the Commission to impose on the Public Information Officer a personal penalty of two hundred and fifty rupees for each day of default, subject to a maximum of twenty-five thousand rupees, and to recommend disciplinary action, after giving him a reasonable opportunity of being heard, the burden of proving that he acted reasonably and diligently being on him.
The appeal structure
| Stage | To whom | Time limit | Provision |
|---|---|---|---|
| Decision | Public Information Officer | 30 days, 48 hours for life or liberty, 40 days where a third party is involved | Section 7 |
| First appeal | An officer senior in rank to the Public Information Officer in the same public authority | 30 days from the expiry of the period or from receipt of the decision | Section 19(1) |
| Second appeal | The Central or State Information Commission | 90 days from the date on which the decision should have been made or was actually received | Section 19(3) |
Section 19(1): any person who does not receive a decision within the time specified in section 7(1) or 7(3)(a), or is aggrieved by a decision of the Public Information Officer, may within thirty days prefer an appeal to an officer senior in rank to that officer in each public authority. A proviso allows the appeal to be admitted after thirty days where the appellate officer is satisfied that the appellant was prevented by sufficient cause from filing in time.
Section 19(2): where an appeal is preferred against an order made under section 11 to disclose third party information, the appeal by the third party shall be made within thirty days from the date of the order.
Section 19(3): a second appeal lies within ninety days to the Commission, with a like proviso permitting condonation of delay for sufficient cause.
Section 19(4): where the decision appealed against relates to information of a third party, the Commission shall give the third party a reasonable opportunity of being heard.
The remaining sub-sections of section 19 provide, in substance:
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