Reminder for First Appeal under RTI Act

REMINDER TO FIRST APPEAL

Now a new mischievous trend is witnessed, whereby first appellate authority [FAA] does not answer first appeal, forcing information seeker to resort to complaint or second appeal to CIC/SIC. Complaint or second appeal is heard after delay ranging from 6 to 36 months, where in IC remands the matter back to FAA to decide in a fixed time.

Under such a situation, FAAs are encouraged not to decide first appeals and thus compel appellants to file second appeals or complaints, since FAAs know that Information Commissions will at the most remand back to FAAs only, after 6 to 36 months, without fixing accountability for not performing their duties under the Act. In addition to this, appellants are put to inconvenience, expenses, visits, frustration and wastage of time and money in approaching Commission and again to FAAs. This style pampers ego of FAAs and dignity of common men is lowered down in a democratic country. Appellants will once again be required to approach Commission if they are not satisfied with decisions of FAAs. This amounts to merry-go-round [pillar to post] bureaucratic procedure well known in India, which is antithetical to letter and spirit of RTI. This procedure not only delays supply of information and causes hardship to appellants, it also increases avoidable work load of Information Commissions.

I suggest that a letter as per attached draft should be addressed to FAA with copy to Head of Organization, if no decision is received within stipulated time of 45 days + 10 days [both side postal time] from date of mailing first appeal. Simultaneously file second appeal or complaint and attach copy of this reminder with it. Mail copy of second appeal or complaint to FAA and PIO under UPC post with suggested reminder.

This may expedite decision of first appeal and if you are not satisfied with reply of FAA, you can file addendum to second appeal/complaint pending with Information Commission. If you still do not get reply of FAA, this reminder may deter information commissioner from remanding appeal/complaint back to FAA. Commission will itself take decision. This reminder will justify and strengthen your prayer for disciplinary action against FAA and for compensation also. Head of Organization may take cognizance of flouting RTI Act by FAA if repeated complaints of this type are received by him. A positive impact will result due to reminder over a period of time, if consistently pressed by applicants.

____________________________________________________________________________________

From:

Address:

Cell:

_______________________________________________________________

Date: _______

REMINDER

By Regd AD post


To,
___________________ [Designation]
Appellate Authority under RTI Act,
__________________________

___________________________

Subject: FIRST APPEAL UNDER RTI ACT 2005-REMINDER


I had mailed first appeal dated _____ for my RTI application dated _______, in connection with ________________.

2. My appeal has not been replied within stipulated period as yet. Thus I would have been justified in lodging complaint u/s 18 or second appeal u/s 19.3 of RTI Act. Before I lodge this complaint/appeal, I remind you to decide my said appeal at the earliest.

3. In case if I do not get decision within 15 days from the date hereof, I shall presume that you have decided to deliberately, knowingly and malafidely defy provisions of an act passed by the Parliament. I may remind you that this is a quasi-judicial duty enjoined on you in personal capacity under RTI Act. This is not just an administrative duty, which you can bunk with impunity. Your indifference is affecting my fundamental right guaranteed under article 19.1.a of Constitution of India.

4. I am sure, service rules of your dept/organization must have classified transgression of law of land and breaching fundamental rights of a citizen by public servants, as gross misconduct. By not deciding on my appeal within stipulated time frame, you are rendering yourself liable and answerable to govt/management through departmental action.

5. I am aware FAAs hardly care for decisions of Information Commissions. None the less, I invite your kind attention to following CIC decisions:

No. CIC/SG/A/2010/001352/8407 dated 05-07-2010
No.CIC/SG/A/2010/000085/6895Adjunct dated 05-07-2010
No. CIC/AT/A/2008/00290 dated 17-07-2008
No.CIC/AD/A/2010/000952 dated August 18, 2010 and also
office memorandum No. 10/23/2007-IR dated 09-07-2007 of DoPT,
Govt of India, New Delhi and judgements in following petitions in the matter of delay:

Writ petition No. 8348/2009 in High Court of Bombay [Aurangabad bench] dated 25-01-2010.

SLP No. 6584/2010 in High Court of Gujarat dated 01-09-2010


6.I also draw your kind attention to the fact that you are rendering your organization/department accountable under The Consumer Protection Act 1986, since I am consumer under this act as decided by National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, New Delhi on 28-05-2009 in Revision Petition Nr. 1975 OF 2005.

7. I humbly append important extract from judgement of Hon’ble SUPREME COURT OF INDIA in Lucknow Development Authority V/s. M.K. Gupta [CITATION: 1994 AIR 787 1994 SCC (1) 243 JT 1993 (6) 307 1993 SCALE (4)370}

“Under our Constitution sovereignty vests in the people. Every limb of the constitutional machinery is obliged to be people oriented. No functionary in exercise of statutory power can claim immunity, except to the extent protected by the statute itself. Public authorities acting in violation of constitutional or statutory provisions oppressively are accountable for their behaviour before authorities created under the statute like the commission or the courts entrusted with responsibility of maintaining the rule of law. “

8. Please speed up your decision in your own interest.

Yours faithfully,

_______________

Copy by post to:
Head of Govt. dept or organization

-I request you to initiate [or order] departmental action against FAA for transgression of law passed by Parliament, which must be a gross misconduct under your service rules. For common men and women, it is shocking to witness that public servants are having such scant respect for laws of the country and fundamental rights of citizens.