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APPLYING THE LAW

Handling Appeals: Processing Complaints

At the time of writing, procedural rules have not yet been developed under the Central Act so that it is unclear what exact process will need to be followed when appeals are made to one of the new Information Commissions. If you have access to the internet, you should consider checking the Central Government's RTI Website or your State Government website to check what procedures have been developed.

At a minimum, when managing a complaint, the Information Commissions will need to consider the different steps that need to be taken and the various issues to be considered at each stage:

Notably, it is a matter of concern that the Central Act currently contains no time limit for undertaking all of the steps noted above and disposing of appeals to the Information Commission. (Compare the fact that the first Appellate Authority is required to dispose off appeals within 30-45 days). However, a time limit for Information Commission appeals could - and should - still be provided for under the RTI Rules or in the Information Commissions own procedural guidelines. It is recommended that the same time limit of 30-45 days given to Appellate Authorities be adopted by Information Commissions.

Currently, the only time limits imposed upon Information Commissions by the Act are:

  • 30 days to dispose of appeals by third parties against the decision of the PIO to release information given by them to that public authority in confidence [s.19(2) and (6)]; and
  • 45 days to deal with requests where information sought has to do with allegations of corruption or human rights violation committed by any member of the intelligence or security organisations notified under Schedule 2 of the RTI Act [s.24(1)].

Information Commission - Different procedures for different types of complaints

One of the first tasks of the Information Commissions will be to develop - and publish - detailed procedural guidelines regarding how exactly an appeal will be processed. Section 19(11) of the Act specifically requires that the Information Commissions shall decide appeal in accordance with such procedure as may be prescribed. These procedures will be found in the Appeal Rules and/or will take the form of internal procedures manuals.

As noted previously, section 18(1) gives Information Commissions a very broad power to hear appeals, which empowers them to review any complaint regarding alleged non-compliance with the law. Appeals are not limited - as they were in some Indian State RTI laws - to simply reviewing alleged wrongful decisions regarding non-disclosure of information. Additionally, section 24(1) gives Information Commissions a role in determining when information should be released by an intelligence or security agencies which is otherwise exempted under s.24(1), on the basis that the information relates sought "is in respect of allegations of violations of human rights".

As a consequence of the breadth of the appeal and oversight remit of Information Commission, any internal procedural guidelines which are produced will need to be sure to address the different challenges that will be thrown up by the different types of cases the Commission will handle.

When developing internal procedural guidelines, consideration will need to be given to dividing up the responsibilities between Commissioners but also between Commission staff. In this respect, it may be that Commission staff can be delegated to undertake basic investigation and/or research tasks, in order to free up the Commissioners to spend more time considering their decisions. Throughout the world, many Information Commissioners delegate a substantial portion of their workload to their staff, subject to final sign-off on decisions and clear supervision channels.

Please click on the link to the Central RTI Act to read the detailed provisions contained in the law. Please click on the link to CHRI's State RTI pages to find out more about relevant rules and implementation in your specific State.