law: The Right to Information Act, 2005
  CHAPTER V
  Powers
  
  and functions of the Information Commissions, appeal and penalties
  1.
  2.
  3.
  4.  
  
  
  
   
  5.
  6.
  7.
  8.
  9.
  10.
  11.
  12.
  13.
  14.
  15.
  16.
  17.
  18.  
  
    
  1.   Subject to the
  
  provisions of this Act, it shall be the duty of the Central Information
  
  Commission or State Information Commission, as the case may be, to receive and
  
  inquire into a complaint from any person,-    
  a.   who has been unable
  
  to submit a request to a Central Public Information Officer or State Public
  
  Information Officer, as the case may be, either by reason that no such officer
  
  has been appointed under this Act, or because the Central Assistant Public
  
  Information Officer or State Assistant Public Information Officer, as the case
  
  may be, has refused to accept his or her application for information or appeal
  
  under this Act for forwarding the same to the Central Public Information
  
  Officer or State Public Information Officer or senior officer specified in
  
  sub-section (1) of section 19 or the Central Information Commission or the
  
  State Information Commission, as the case may be;    
  b.   who has been refused
  
  access to any information requested under this Act;    
  c.   who has not been
  
  given a response to a request for information or access to information within
  
  the time limit specified under this Act;    
  d.   who has been required
  
  to pay an amount of fee which he or she considers unreasonable;    
  e.   who believes that he
  
  or she has been given incomplete, misleading or false information under this
  
  Act; and
  f.   in respect of any
  
  other matter relating to requesting or obtaining access to records under this
  
  Act.  
  1.
  2.   Where the Central
  
  Information Commission or State Information Commission, as the case may be, is
  
  satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to inquire into the matter, it may
  
  initiate an inquiry in respect thereof.
  3.   The Central
  
  Information Commission or State Information Commission, as the case may be,
  
  shall, while inquiring into any matter under this section, have the same powers
  
  as are vested in a civil court while trying a suit under the Code of Civil
  
  Procedure, 1908, in respect of the following matters, namely:-
  a.   summoning and
  
  enforcing the attendance of persons and compel them to give oral or written
  
  evidence on oath and to produce the documents or things;
  b.   requiring the
  
  discovery and inspection of documents;    
  c.   receiving evidence on
  
  affidavit;    
  d.   requisitioning any
  
  public record or copies thereof from any court or office;    
  e.   issuing summons for
  
  examination of witnesses or documents; and
  f.   any other matter
  
  which may be prescribed.  
  1.
  2.
  3.  
  
  
  
  
  4.   Notwithstanding
  
  anything inconsistent contained in any other Act of Parliament or State
  
  Legislature, as the case may be, the Central Information Commission or the
  
  State Information Commission, as the case may be, may, during the inquiry of
  
  any complaint under this Act, examine any record to which this Act applies
  
  which is under the control of the public authority, and no such record may be
  
  withheld from it on any grounds.
  1.
  2.
  3.  
  
  
  
  
  4.
  5.
  6.
  7.
  8.
  9.
  10.
  11.
  12.
  13.
  14.
  15.
  16.
  17.
  18.
  19.
  1.   Any person who, does
  
  not receive a decision within the time specified in sub-section (1) or clause
  
  (a) of sub-section (3) of section 7, or is aggrieved by a decision of the
  
  Central Public Information Officer or State Public Information Officer, as the
  
  case may be, may within thirty days from the expiry of such period or from the
  
  receipt of such a decision prefer an appeal to such officer who is senior in
  
  rank to the Central Public Information Officer or State Public Information
  
  Officer as the case may be, in each public authority: that such
  
  officer may admit the appeal after the expiry of the period of thirty days if
  
  he or she is satisfied that the appellant was prevented by sufficient cause
  
  from filing the appeal in time.  
  1.
  2.   Where an appeal is
  
  preferred against an order made by a Central Public Information Officer or a
  
  State Public Information Officer, as the case may be, under section 11 to
  
  disclose third party information, the appeal by the concerned third party shall
  
  be made within thirty days from the date of the order.  
  3.   A second appeal
  
  against the decision under sub-section (1) shall lie within ninety days from
  
  the date on which the decision should have been made or was actually received,
  
  with the Central Information Commission or the State Information Commission:
  that the
  
  Central Information Commission or the State Information Commission, as the case
  
  may be, may admit the appeal after the expiry of the period of ninety days if
  
  it is satisfied that the appellant was prevented by sufficient cause from
  
  filing the appeal in time.  
  1.
  2.
  3.
  4.   If the decision of
  
  the Central Public Information Officer or State Public Information Officer, as
  
  the case may be, against which an appeal is preferred relates to information of
  
  a third party, the Central Information Commission or State Information
  
  Commission, as the case may be, shall give a reasonable opportunity of being
  
  heard to that third party.
  5.   In any appeal
  
  proceedings, the onus to prove that a denial of a request was justified shall
  
  be on the Central Public Information Officer or State Public Information
  
  Officer, as the case may be, who denied the request.  
  6.   An appeal under
  
  sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) shall be disposed of within thirty days of
  
  the receipt of the appeal or within such extended period not exceeding a total
  
  of forty-five days from the date of filing thereof, as the case may be, for
  
  reasons to be recorded in writing.  
  7.   The decision of the
  
  Central Information Commission or State Information Commission, as the case may
  
  be, shall be binding.
  8.   In its decision, the
  
  Central Information Commission or State Information Commission, as the case may
  
  be, has the power to -
  a.   require the public
  
  authority to take any such steps as may be necessary to secure compliance with
  
  the provisions of this Act, including-      
   
  
   i.  
  
    by
  
  providing access to information, if so requested, in a particular form;
   
  
   ii.  
  
    by
  
  appointing a Central Public Information Officer or State Public Information
  
  Officer, as the case may be;      
   
  
  
  
   iii.  
  
    by
  
  publishing certain information or categories of information;    
  
   
   
  
   iv.  
  
    by
  
  making necessary changes to its practices in relation to the maintenance,
  
  management and destruction of records;      
   
  
   v.  
  
    by
  
  enhancing the provision of training on the right to information for its
  
  officials;      
   
  
   vi.  
  
    by
  
  providing it with an annual report in compliance with clause (b) of sub-section
  
  (1) of section 4;    
  a.
  b.   require the public
  
  authority to compensate the complainant for any loss or other detriment
  
  suffered;
  c.   impose any of the
  
  penalties provided under this Act;    
  d.   reject the
  
  application.  
  1.
  2.
  3.
  4.
  5.
  6.
  7.
  8.
  9.   The Central
  
  Information Commission or State Information Commission, as the case may be,
  
  shall give notice of its decision, including any right of appeal, to the complainant
  
  and the public authority.  
  10.   The Central
  
  Information Commission or State Information Commission, as the case may be,
  
  shall decide the appeal in accordance with such procedure as may be prescribed.
  
  
  1.
  2.
  3.
  4.
  5.
  6.
  7.
  8.
  9.
  10.
  11.
  12.
  13.
  14.
  15.
  16.
  17.
  18.
  19.
  20.
  1.   Where the Central
  
  Information Commission or the State Information Commission, as the case may be,
  
  at the time of deciding any complaint or appeal is of the opinion that the
  
  Central Public Information Officer or the State Public Information Officer, as
  
  the case may be, has, without any reasonable cause, refused to receive an
  
  application for information or has not furnished information within the time
  
  specified under sub-section (1) of section 7 or malafidely denied the request
  
  for information or knowingly given incorrect, incomplete or misleading
  
  information or destroyed information which was the subject of the request or
  
  obstructed in any manner in furnishing the information, it shall impose a
  
  penalty of two hundred and fifty rupees each day till application is received
  
  or information is furnished, so however, the total amount of such penalty shall
  
  not exceed twenty-five thousand rupees:
  that the
  
  Central Public Information Officer or the State Public Information Officer, as
  
  the case may be, shall be given a reasonable opportunity of being heard before
  
  any penalty is imposed on him:
  Provided further that
  
  the burden of proving that he acted reasonably and diligently shall be on the
  
  Central Public Information Officer or the State Public Information Officer, as
  
  the case may be.  
  1.
  2.   Where the Central
  
  Information Commission or the State Information Commission, as the case may be,
  
  at the time of deciding any complaint or appeal is of the opinion that the
  
  Central Public Information Officer or the State Public Information Officer, as
  
  the case may be, has, without any reasonable cause and persistently, failed to
  
  receive an application for information or has not furnished information within
  
  the time specified under sub-section (1) of section 7 or malafidely denied the
  
  request for information or knowingly given incorrect, incomplete or misleading
  
  information or destroyed information which was the subject of the request or
  
  obstructed in any manner in furnishing the information, it shall recommend for
  
  disciplinary action against the Central Public Information Officer or the State
  
  Public Information Officer, as the case may be, under the service rules
  
  applicable to him.