Role & Responsibility of Public Information Officers under RTI Act, 2005

 

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Role & Responsibility of Public Information Officers Under RTI Act, 2005   The Right to Information Act, 2005 provides for setting practical regime for citizens to secure access to information under the control of public authorities to promote transparency and accountability in the working of every public authority i.e. government and semi-government organizations, institutions, etc. It requires that each public authority shall designate one or more Central/State Public Information Officer for implementation of this Act. The definition of Central/State Public Information Officer is as under:   “Central Public Information Officer" means the Central Public Information Officer designated under sub-section (1) and includes a Central Assistant Public Information Officer designated as such under sub-section (2) of section 5;   “State Public Information Officer" means the State Public Information Officer designated under sub-section (1) and includes a State Assistant Public Information Officer designated as such under sub-section (2) of section 5 These Officers shall be designated in all administrative units or offices under each public authority to provide information to persons requesting for the information under this Act. Broadly, the officers working for the central government public authorities are known as ‘Central Public Information Officer’ while those working for the state government public authorities are known as ‘State Public Information Officer’. Those working for the Union territories are usually called ‘Public Information Officer’. For the sake of convenience these officer are being addressed as Public Information Officer (PIO) and Assistant Public Information Officer (APIO), respectively, in this article. Designation of Public Information Officer (PIO): The Act provides that every public authority shall designate one or more officers as a Public Information Officer in all administrative units or offices under it, as may be necessary, to provide information to persons requesting for the information under the Act.  Public Information Officers may be designated by designation, instead of by name, so that on his transfer the incumbent joining the post automatically takes over the charge. By and large, thousands of the existing officers have been designated as Public Information Officers and they are performing RTI functions in addition to their routine duties. Interestingly, initially no one wanted to be designated as PIO due to fear of penalty clause. Many of those who were designated as PIO managed to transfer the baton to their juniors. With the passage of time things have settled down Proper allocation of work should be done where more than one Public Information Officer is designated. This may be done either on functional basis or jurisdictional basis to avoid any conflict or overlapping. Display of Name Plates: Such officers have to display a name plate outside their room depicting their designation of Public Information Officer so that the public can locate them easily. Designation of Link Officer: In order to ensure availability of Public Information Officer at all times it is advisable to designate another officer as the link officer so that if the Public Information Officer is not available or proceeds on leave the RTI work does not suffer. Role & Responsibility of Public Information Officer: The Public Information Officer is the pivotal officer for implementation of the Act. He has to handle all the statutory/primary work relating to disposal of the RTI requests received from applicants seeking information, in a time bound manner. He can be said to be a परेशान सूचना अथिकारी He has to perform a quasi-judicial function to the dispose of such requests. He has to decide as to what can be shared and what not, as per provisions of the Act. He has to perform his duties in a responsible manner, without fear or favour. The Public Information Officer has to cautiously perform his duties, as he is sandwiched between the time frame and the penalty provisions. The Public Information Officer may not be having every information on his own desk. As such he may have to collect, compile, and collate the requisite information, in a time bound manner. Expeditious disposal: The Public Information Officer on receipt of a request shall deal it as expeditiously as possible and in any case within thirty days of the receipt of the request. During this period he shall either provide the information on payment of such fee as may be prescribed or reject the request for any of the reasons specified in sections 8, 9, 11 or 24 of the Act. Transfer of unconcerned application: In case an applicant seeks information which is held by another public authority; or the subject matter of which is more closely connected with the functions of another public authority, the Public Information Officer shall transfer the application or such part of it as may be appropriate to that other public authority. The transfer of an application pursuant to above shall be made as soon as practicable but in no case later than five days from the date of receipt of the application. He shall inform the applicant immediately about such transfer. Life or liberty cases:  The information concerning the life or liberty of a person shall be provided within forty-eight hours of the receipt of the request. Deemed refusal: If the Public Information Officer fails to give decision on the request for information within the period specified the Public Information Officer shall be deemed to have refused the request. Additional Fee: Where any further fee is needed for representing the cost of providing the information, the Public Information Officer shall send an intimation to the person making the request, giving the details of further fees representing the cost of providing the information, together with the calculations made to arrive at the amount in accordance with fee prescribed, requesting him to deposit that fee. The period intervening between the despatch of the said intimation and payment of fees shall be excluded for the purpose of calculating the period of thirty days referred to in that sub-section. Right to review of decision regarding further fee: The applicants shall be informed about his or her right with respect to review of the decision regarding further fee including the particulars of the appellate authority, time limit, process and any other forms. Additional fee for printed or in any electronic format: The PIO shall charge further fee where access to information is to be provided in the printed or in any electronic format. The fee prescribed shall be reasonable and no such fee shall be charged from the persons who are of below poverty line as may be determined by the appropriate Government. Render reasonable assistance: The Public Information Officer shall render all reasonable assistance to the person making the request orally to reduce the same in writing. Assistance to sensorily disabled persons: The Public Information Officer shall provide assistance to sensorily disabled person to enable access to the information, including providing such assistance as may be appropriate for the inspection. Provision of Certified Copies: The Public Information officer shall provide certified copies of permissible document, sample of material, etc. against further payment. Inspection of records: The Public Information officer shall render assistance in inspection of office and inspection of records etc. He will ensure that no mischief is played with the records during inspection of records. Supply of free information in case of delay: The person making request for the information shall be provided the information free of charge where a public authority fails to comply with the time limits specified. Communicate the process for appeal: In case a request has been rejected the Public Information Officer  shall communicate to the person making the request,— the reasons for such rejection; the period within which an appeal against such rejection may be preferred; and the particulars of the appellate authority. Provide information in the form in which it is sought: An information shall ordinarily be provided in the form in which it is sought unless it would disproportionately divert the resources of the public authority or would be detrimental to the safety or preservation of the record in question. In case of request for voluminous information the Public Information Officer may invite the applicant to see the records and indicate what he actually requires. Exemption from disclosure of information: The Public Information Officer shall judicially decide the applications hit by section 8 of the Act and provide cogent reasons for rejection. Copyright Infringement: The Public Information Officer may reject a request for information where such a request for providing access would involve an infringement of copyright subsisting in a person other than the State. Severability of information: Where a request for access to information is rejected on the ground that it is in relation to information which is exempt from disclosure, then, access may be provided to that part of the record which does not contain any information which is exempt from disclosure under this Act and which can reasonably be severed from any part that contains exempt information. Action in third party information cases: In third party cases the Public Information Officer shall, within five days from the receipt of the request, give a written notice to such third party of the request and of the fact that the Public Information Officer intends to disclose the information  or record, or part thereof.  He shall invite the third party to make a submission in writing or orally, regarding whether the information should be disclosed, and such submission of the third party shall be kept in view while taking a decision about disclosure of information. Public Interest overweighs: However,  in the case of trade or commercial secrets protected by law, disclosure may be allowed if the public interest in disclosure outweighs in importance any possible harm or injury to the interests of such third party. Approval of Competent Authority may be taken where required. Opportunity of hearing: Where a notice is served by Public Information Officer to a third party in respect of any information or record or part thereof, the third party shall, within ten days from the date of receipt of such notice, be given the opportunity to make representation against the proposed disclosure. The Public Information Officer shall take into consideration the representation made by a third party, before taking any decision. The Public Information shall, within forty days after receipt of the request, if the third party has been given an opportunity to make representation make a decision as to whether or not to disclose the information or record or part thereof and give in writing the notice of his decision to the third party. The third party to whom the notice is given is entitled to prefer an appeal under section 19 against the decision. As both the applicant and the third party have a right to file appeal no information should be provided in such cases till the time for filing appeal by the parties is over. In case any one goes in appeal  the PIO should await till a decision is taken by the appellate authority. Deemed PIO: The Public Information Officer may seek the assistance of any other officer as he or she considers it necessary for the proper discharge of his or her duties. Any officer, whose assistance has been sought shall render all assistance to the Public Information Officer seeking his or her assistance and for the purposes of any contravention of the provisions of this Act, such other officer shall be treated as a Public Information Officer. Secondary/allied functions: Apart from the primary/statutory functions the Public Information Officer shall have to perform some secondary/allied functions, as per requirement, for the proper implementation of the Act. These may be as under: To dispose of life or liberty cases on priority basis; To provide guidance to other officers and staff; To arrange for training of the staff; To monitor the work relating to RTI applications forwarded to other units for supply of information; To pay attention to record management and to get old records weeded out; To provide suo motu information as per section 4(2) through website and printed material; To upload 17 Manuals on departmental website and keep the website updated; To render assistance to first Appellate Authority in disposal of appeals; To attend to appeal cases referred by Central/State Information Commission; To collect penalty amount and deposit the same in the relevant Pay & Accounts Office; To circulate important decisions of Central/State Information Commission and Higher Courts to all concerned and ensure their compliance; To circulate & adhere to decisions communicated by DoPT; To attend to Court Cases relating to RTI; To compile periodical reports and annual reports To analyse applications to find out areas needing improvements; To manage working of Information Facilitation Counters; To regulate the working of receipt and timely transmission of applications and appeals; To ensure receipt of proper fee and additional charges, where required; To provide facility for deposit of cash to applicants; To get the Postal orders, Bankers Cheque, etc. encased; To deposit the cash with the departmental Accounts Branch; To maintain record of fee accounts and get it audited; To guide and monitor the Assistant Public Information Officers in all matters related to RTI Act etc. Some of the above functions may be given to a Nodal Officer where more than one  Public Information Officer has been designated, keeping in view the organisation's requirements. Accountability: The Public Information Officer should not refuse to receive RTI applications and appeals of other public authorities to avoid penal action.   He must adhere to the prescribed time schedule. Immunity for anything done in good faith: No suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding shall lie against any person for anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done under this Act or any rule made thereunder. FAQs. Q.1 Can a Public Information Officer send an interim reply in case one seeks voluminous information? Ans. Part information may be sent to him with the assurance that rest of the information is being collected or traced, as the case may be. This may send positive vibes. Q.2 Can an application with more than 500 words be refused? Ans. No.