Information about death of sister

Brother of the deceased third party sought certain information relating to the death of his sister. The PIO submitted that the appellant was requested to deposit photocopying charges of Rs 16/- which he failed to deposit. The First appeal was disposed of reiterating the same reply. The appellant claimed that he had not received any replies to his RTI Application. The CIC held that in case the PIO provides the proof of delivery of the demand of further fee, the appellant shall deposit Rs 16/- photocopying charges to obtain the copies; Failing which, the PIO should provide the information free of cost..

Comments

If a reply is not received by the RTI applicant within the prescribed time period, he is entitled to receive the information free of cost and the PIO may be liable to penalty. In this case, the CIC ought to have verified this fact during the hearing rather than giving an open ended order.

Citation: Mrityunjay Kumar Gautam v. HQ Western Air Command, CJA Branch Indian Air force in File no.: CIC/IAIRF/A/2019/131483, Date of Decision: 08/07/2021

Dr. Anuradha Verma (dranuradhaverma@yahoo.co.in) is an expert on RTI matters and has co-authored the books RIGHT TO INFORMATION - LAW AND PRACTICE and PIO’s guide to RTI. Apart from her weekly article here, her other articles can be read at the website of RTI Foundation of India at the link: www.rtifoundationofindia.com