When would my application be considered?

The appellant sought to know as to when his application will be placed for consideration before the Rajya Sabha. The CIC observed that The RTI Act does not cast any obligation on the PIO to answer queries, in which the seeker of information attempts to elicit answer to the questions with prefixes, such as, why, what, when and whether. The CIC directed the PIO to forward the letter petition of the appellant dated 28.11.2019 to the Chief Secretary, Bihar under intimation to the appellant within 3 days of the receipt of the order.

Comments

The case shows how the drafting of the RTI applications affects eliciting proper response from the public authority. The applicant could have asked whether there are any norms for putting up a letter to the Rajya Sabha and for the body to consider it.

Citation: Santosh Kumar Pandit v. Parliament of India Rajya Sabha Secretariat, File no.: - CIC/PAROI/A/2022/137994, Date of Decision: 08/02/2023

Dr Anuradha Verma (dranuradhaverma@yahoo.co.in) is a RTI Consultant currently working with IIM Visakhapatnam. She has co-authored the books, RTI Right to Information - Law and Practice and PIO’s Guide to RTI. She offers consultancy on RTI matters and Third party audit. Her other articles can be read at the website of RTI Foundation of India at the link www.rtifoundationofindia.com