Article 19 (1) under which every citizen has freedom of speech and expression and has the right to know how the government works, what role it plays, what are its functions, etc. RTI Act confers the right to access information held by a Public authority . Citizens can apply to get information under RTI 2005 along with a fee to the Public Information Officer (P.I.O). The P.I.O. shall take into consideration the representation while deciding on the request on merits.
In the normal course, information to an applicant shall be supplied within 30 days from the receipt of the application by the public authority. If the information sought concerns the life or liberty of a person, it shall be supplied within 48 hours. In case the application is sent through the Assistant Public Information Officer or it is sent to the wrong public authority, five days shall be added to the period of thirty days or 48 hours, as the case may be. (Sec 7(1) of RTI Act, 2005).
If the PIO is of the view that the information sought cannot be supplied under the provisions of the Act, he would reject the application. However, while rejecting the application, he shall inform the applicant of the reasons for such rejection and the particulars of the appellate authority. In case, where, the request is rejected or refused by the P.I.O.; the particulars of the Appellate Authority to whom the appeal can be referred, shall be mentioned with the time limit of the appeal.
An applicant can file an appeal if they are not supplied information within the prescribed time or are not satisfied with the information furnished to them. The appeal is to be made to the first appellate authority, who is an officer senior in rank to the Public Information Officer.
Section 19(6) of the Right to Information Act, 2005 states that an appeal under section 19(1) or section 19(2) must be disposed of within 30 days of receiving the appeal. If the appeal is not disposed of within 30 days, it can be extended to a total of 45 days from the date of filing, for reasons to be recorded in writing.
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