Explained : The procedure of Seeking Information under RTI 2005

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.

A citizen, who desires to obtain any information under the Act, should make an application to the Public Information Officer of the concerned public authority in writing in English or Hindi or in the official language of the area in which the application is made. The application should be precise. He should make payment of the application fee at the time of applying as prescribed in the Fee Rules.

 The applicant can send the application by post or through electronic means or can deliver it personally to the office of the public authority. The application can also be sent through a State Assistant Public Information Officer appointed by the Department of Post at the sub-divisional level or other sub-district level.

Organization(s) exempt from providing information under the RTI Act:

Certain intelligence and security organisations specified in the Second Schedule are exempted from providing information except for information about allegations of corruption and human rights violations.

There is no prescribed form of application for seeking information. The application can be made on plain paper. The application should, however, have the name and complete postal address of the applicant. Even in cases where the information is sought electronically, the application should contain the name and postal address of the applicant.

To seek information under the Right to Information (RTI) Act of 2005, you can write an application in English, Hindi, or the local language specifying the exact information you want. The application shall bear your name and full address for communication.  If possible, include specific documents related to the information you want.

The applicant can send the application by post or through electronic means or can deliver it personally to the office of the public authority. The application can also be sent through a State Assistant Public Information Officer appointed by the Department of Post at the sub-divisional level or other sub-district level.

FEE FOR SEEKING INFORMATION

The application fee for a Right to Information (RTI) request is Rs. 10, which can be paid in the following ways:

Offline:

You can pay the fee by cash, demand draft, banker’s check, or Indian Postal Order. The payment should be made to the Accounts Officer of the public authority. It stated by the Department of Personnel & pension Government of India in their circular dated April 26, 2011 that they have noticed that some public authorities do not accept fee through the Indian Postal Orders. The above department categorically stated that refusal to accept fees through the IPO may be treated as refusal to accept the application. It may result in the imposition of a penalty by the Central Information Commission on the concerned Central Public Information Officer under Section 20 of the Act.

BPL category: If you belong to the below poverty line (BPL) category, you don’t need to pay the fee.

Online:

To submit an online Right to Information (RTI) application, you can follow these steps:
Go to the official RTI portal at rtionline.gov.in

On clicking on “Submit Request”, the applicant has to fill in the required details on the page that will appear.

The fields marked * are mandatory while the others are optional.

The text of the application may be written in the prescribed column.

At present, the text of an application that can be uploaded in the prescribed column is confined to 3000 characters only.

Only alphabets A-Z a-z numbers 0-9 and special characters, – _ ( ) / @: &? \ % are allowed in Text for RTI Request application.

In case an application contains more than 3000 characters, it can be uploaded as an attachment, by using the column “Supporting document”.

Do not upload an Aadhar Card PAN Card or any other personal Identification (Except BPL Card).

The PDF file name should not have any blank spaces.

After filling out the first page, the applicant has to click on “Make Payment” to make payment of the prescribed fee.

The applicant can pay the prescribed fee through the following modes:

(a) Internet banking;

(b) Using credit/debit card of Master/Visa;

(c) Using UPI

(d) Using RuPay Card.

The fee for making an application is as prescribed in the RTI Rules, 2012.

After making payment, an application can be submitted.

After making payment, if the applicant doesn’t receive the registration number then the applicant is advised to wait for 24-48 working hours as the registration number will be generated after reconciliation. Please do not make additional attempts to make payment again. If it is not generated within 24-48 hours kindly send an e-mail at helprtionline-dopt[at]nic[dot]in with transaction details.

No RTI fee is required to be paid by any citizen who is below the poverty line as per RTI Rules, 2012. However, the applicant must attach a copy of the certificate issued by the appropriate government in this regard, along with the application.

On submission of an application, a unique registration number would be issued, which may be referred by the applicant for any references in the future.

The application filed through this Web Portal would reach the “Nodal Officer” of the concerned Ministry/Department electronically, who would transmit the RTI application electronically to the concerned CPIO.

In case an additional fee is required representing the cost of providing information, the CPIO would inform the applicant through this portal. This intimation can be seen by the applicant through the Status Report or his/her e-mail alert.

To make an appeal to the first Appellate Authority, the applicant must click “Submit First Appeal” and complete the form that will appear.

The registration number of the original application has to be used for reference.

As per the RTI Act, no fee has to be paid for the first appeal.

The applicant/the appellant should submit his/her mobile number to receive an SMS alert.

The applicant/appellant can see the status of the RTI application/first appeal filed online by clicking “View Status.”

All the requirements for filing an RTI application and first appeal as well as other provisions regarding time limit, exemptions, etc., as provided in the RTI Act, 2005 will continue to apply.

IMPORTANT WEB-SITES

Given below are the addresses of some important web-sites which contain substantial information relevant to the right to information:

Portal of the Government of India (http://indiaimage.nic.in).

Portal on the Right to Information (www.rti.gov.in).