APPLYING THE LAW

Handling Appeals: Internal Appeals

Section 19(1) of the Central Act allows any person who does not receive a decision from the Public Information Officer (PIO) within the set time limit, or who is aggrieved by a decision, to send an appeal to an officer who is directly superior in rank to the PIO. The appeal must be made within 30 days of actual receipt of the decision or 30 days from when the decision should have been made.

Different states in India have appointed different bodies as Appellate Authorities under the Central Act. Some have appointed as many Appellate Authorities as PIOs, while others have made very senior officers in the headquarters of the public authority the Appellate Authority.

Whatever option is chosen, the list of Appellate Authorities will need to be publicly notified - ideally by publishing it on your website, in local newspapers and by putting up a notice on noticeboards in all offices of your public authority. Full contact details should be published and constantly kept updated.

Even though an Appellate Authority is usually from the same department as the original decision-maker, it is important that Appellate Authorities take this role as an impartial oversight mechanism seriously. The appeal process is supposed to give the requester a chance to be heard and to explain why the original decision was incorrect. Appellate Authorities needs to seriously consider the arguments on both sides.

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.