3a1.Common_RTI

• Right to Information Act 2005


  Act enacted in India in 2005 to empower citizens, promote transparency and accountability in government, contain corruption, and make democracy work for the people
• Objectives of RTI Act

  • Make government machinery accountable
  • Contain Corruption
  • Promote Transparency
• Public Authority


  Government owned departments, organizations, PSUs and NGOs substantially financed by government that have to comply with RTI Act provisions
• Key functionaries under RTI Act

  • Public Information Officer (PIO)
  • Assistant Public Information Officer (APIO)
  • Appellate Authority
  • Information Commission
• Public Information Officer (PIO)

  Receives RTI applications, processes them and disposes by supplying or denying information as per RTI Act provisions
• Assistant Public Information Officer (APIO)

  Receives RTI requests/appeals and forwards to appropriate authority
• Appellate Authority


  Senior officer to PIO who decides appeals against PIO's decisions within 30-45 days
• Information Commission (IC)


  Monitors implementation and ensures compliance to RTI Act, acts as second level of grievance handling for appeals/complaints
• Information


  Any material in any form including records, documents, memos, e-mails, opinions, advices, press releases, circulars, orders, logbooks, contracts, reports, papers, samples, models, data material held in any electronic form and information relating to any private body which can be accessed by a public authority
• Right to Information


  • Includes right to inspect works, documents, records
  • Take notes, extracts or certified copies
  • Take certified samples
  • Obtain information in electronic form or printouts
• Process to get information

  1. Apply to PIO/APIO on plain paper

  2. Pay prescribed fee

  3. APIO forwards request to PIO within 5 days

  4. PIO processes and disposes application within 30 days
• Information exempted from disclosure

  • Information related to national security, parliament privileges, fiduciary nature, cabinet papers, commercial confidence, trade secrets
  • Information that would endanger life/safety, impede investigation or prosecution
  • Personal information with no public interest
  • Cabinet papers and deliberations
• Timelines to get information

  • 30 days from application
  • 48 hours for information concerning life and liberty
  • 5 days extra if application given to APIO
  • 40 days if third party interests involved
• Penalty


  PIO liable for Rs.250 per day fine up to Rs.25,000 for not accepting application, delaying, malafidely denying, giving incomplete/incorrect information, destroying information, obstructing information furnishing
• BSNL has designated Appellate, PIO and APIO at corporate, circle and SSA levels, and put mandatory information on its website
• Exemptions from disclosure of information

  • Information the disclosure of which would prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security, strategic, scientific or economic interests of the State, relation with foreign State or lead to incitement of an offence
  • Information which has been expressly forbidden to be published by any court of law or tribunal or the disclosure of which may constitute contempt of court
  • Information, the disclosure of which would cause a breach of privilege of Parliament or the State Legislature
  • Information including commercial confidence, trade secrets or intellectual property, the disclosure of which would harm the competitive position of a third party, unless the competent authority is satisfied that the larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information
  • Information received in confidence from foreign Government
  • Information, the disclosure of which would endanger the life or physical safety of any person or identify the source of information or assistance given in confidence for law enforcement or security purposes
  • Information which would impede the process of investigation or apprehension or prosecution of offenders
  • Cabinet papers including records of deliberations of the Council of Ministers, Secretaries and other officers
  • Information which relates to personal information the disclosure of which has no relationship to any public activity or interest, or which would cause unwarranted invasion of the privacy of the individual
  • Notwithstanding any of the exemptions listed above, a public authority may allow access to information, if public interest in disclosure outweighs the harm to the protected interests
• Partial disclosure is allowed, only that part of the record which does not contain any information which is exempt from disclosure and which can reasonably be severed from any part that contains exempt information, may be provided