Filing an RTI application in Kolkata: the route that gets a reply
The Right to Information Act, 2005 applies to every public authority, which includes state government departments, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, municipal bodies, statutory boards, public sector undertakings, and bodies substantially financed by the government. A private company is not covered unless it is owned, controlled or substantially financed by the state, or unless the information relates to a service it provides under a statutory obligation. This distinction decides most first applications: a citizen asking a private builder or a private hospital for information under the Act is asking the wrong body.
Writing the application
The application goes to the Public Information Officer of the specific public authority, and the address matters more than the format. There is no prescribed form, but the application must state the applicant's name and address, the particulars of the information sought, and the period to which it relates. It should be typed, dated, signed and sent by registered post with acknowledgement due or submitted in person with a receipt stamp on a copy. The fee is ten rupees, payable by court fee stamp, demand draft or the mode the authority has notified; a person below the poverty line is exempt on producing proof.
The application should ask for documents, file notings, inspection of records and certified copies rather than asking questions. "Why was my building plan rejected" invites an opinion and can be refused as not being information. "Provide the inspection report dated 12 March, the file notings of the sanctioning committee, and the reasons recorded in the order" is information and must be supplied.
Timelines and what happens next
| Stage | Time limit | Authority |
|---|---|---|
| Reply to the application | 30 days | Public Information Officer |
| Where information concerns a person's life or liberty | 48 hours | Public Information Officer |
| First appeal | Within 30 days of the reply or the deadline | First Appellate Authority, senior to the PIO |
| Decision on first appeal | 30 to 45 days | First Appellate Authority |
| Second appeal | Within 90 days | West Bengal Information Commission |
| Penalty on the PIO | Up to 25,000 rupees | Information Commission |
When the authority refuses
Refusals usually cite Section 8, which exempts information that would prejudicially affect national security, foreign relations, commercial confidence, or that is held in fiduciary relationship, or Section 24 for intelligence and security organisations. A blanket refusal citing Section 8 without showing which part of it applies is usually set aside on appeal. The Act requires severability: the PIO must disclose the part that can be disclosed and withhold only the exempt portion, and a refusal that treats an entire file as exempt is defective.
Common errors that lose appeals
- Sending the application to the wrong authority or to the department's general office instead of the designated PIO.
- Asking for opinions, reasons or clarifications rather than records and certified copies.
- Failing to keep proof of dispatch, which is what establishes the date from which the thirty days run.
- Filing the first appeal after thirty days have elapsed from the reply, without explaining the delay.
- Not asking for inspection, which is often the fastest route where the file exists but copies are said to be unavailable.
How RTI helps in a legal matter
In property and municipal disputes, RTI is often the only way to obtain the inspection report, the sanction file or the mutation record that the department will not hand over on request. In service matters it produces the seniority list and the minutes of the selection committee. In criminal matters it can produce the status of an investigation without touching the exempt parts of the case diary. The documents obtained become evidence, and the date of the reply can be used to explain a delay in filing a suit or an appeal.
Advocate Panchanand Shaw drafts RTI applications and first and second appeals, and uses the records obtained in municipal, service and property litigation before the Calcutta High Court.
Questions applicants ask most often
Can I ask for the reason for a decision? You can ask for the file notings, the minutes and the order that record the reason. Asking only "why" risks a reply that the query seeks an opinion rather than information.
Is there a limit on the number of questions? No statutory limit, but an application with dozens of unrelated queries across several departments is the classic reason for a delay or a transfer under Section 6. One application per department per subject works better.
Can I inspect the file instead of asking for copies? Yes, and inspection is often faster and cheaper. Ask for a date and time for inspection under Section 2(j), and take notes or photographs where permitted.
What if the reply says the record is not traceable? That is a denial of the right to information. File the first appeal and ask the appellate authority to direct a search and to record the steps taken. A repeated "not traceable" reply is the usual foundation for a penalty under Section 20.
Can I use RTI in a pending court case? Yes. RTI is independent of litigation and is often used to obtain the administrative record that the court file does not contain. It cannot be used to seek the court's own records, which are obtained through the court's copying rules.
Is there a fee for the appeal? No fee is payable for the first or the second appeal. The Commission can also award the cost of the appeal to the applicant where the PIO's conduct is found to be without reasonable cause.
Third-party information and notice
Where the information sought relates to or was supplied by a third party, the PIO must give that party a written notice within five days and invite its submission before deciding. The third party can object on the ground that the information is commercial confidence or a trade secret. The PIO must still apply the public interest override: where disclosure serves a larger public interest, the exemption does not apply, and the reasoning must be recorded in the order.
This procedure matters in tender and licensing disputes, where the applicant wants the competing bid or the inspection report. A reply that refuses on the third party's objection without recording the public interest analysis is a defective order and is routinely remanded by the Commission.
Practical first steps
Identify the exact public authority and its designated PIO, draft the request as a list of documents and file notings with the period stated, pay the ten-rupee fee, and dispatch by registered post with acknowledgement due. Diary the thirtieth day. If no reply arrives, file the first appeal with a copy of the application and the postal proof rather than waiting further.
What happens after the RTI application is filed
The Public Information Officer must decide the application within thirty days, or within forty-eight hours where the information concerns the life or liberty of a person. If the reply does not arrive, or arrives incomplete, the next step is a first appeal to the appellate authority within thirty days of the expiry of the period or of the reply. A second appeal lies to the West Bengal Information Commission within ninety days of the first appellate decision. Each stage should be tracked with the acknowledgement number, the postal proof and a copy of the earlier order.
Fee and format: the application can be sent by post, in person or through the state portal with the prescribed fee, and it does not need to be on any particular form. It should identify the information sought in numbered points, avoid asking for opinions or reasons, and state the period to which the information relates. Contact the chamber if a public authority has refused the request or claimed an exemption.