Frequently Asked Questions and Answers

Question: Is the PIO duty-bound to provide information within 30 days even in such cases?

Answer: No. The PIO does not have a duty to provide information to the applicant in such cases. The RI Act states very clearly that the PIO will provide access to information only upon payment of additional fee as may be determined [Sec. 7(1)] by him/her. However, if the PIO does not receive a response to his/her intimation letter from the applicant then the PIO need not take any action.. This action of the PIO will not amount to unreasonable denial of information and will therefore not invite any penalty. It is advisable for the Government to specify the time period limit for such cases in the rues or in the guidelines.

This is a grey area and decision in regard to this is pending before the High Court of Kerala. However, Government has issued a clarification that if the services for providing certificate/copies of department like Revenue, Registration, Survey, etc., are fixed, the statutory fee for obtaining such certificates/ services cannot be circumvented by RTI. However the RTI applicant is at liberty to examine the file, if such file is not of a confidential nature by due process.

No. There is nothing in the RTI Act that states that information disclosed proactively should not be provided to a citizen on request. Section 4(4) requires that all materials disseminated under this Act should be available with the PIO and as far as possible in electronic format. The purpose behind this requirement is that the citizen need not wait for 30 days to get access to information that is already being proactively disseminated. If available in a printed format the PIO may make copies of the same or provide photocopies of the relevant pages to the citizen. If such information is available only in electronic format, the same may be provided on floppies, diskettes, CDs, or in the form of printouts upon payment of fees at rates prescribed by the Government.