Filing an RTI Application in Kolkata: A Practical Walk-Through
The Right to Information Act, 2005 is the cheapest accountability tool an Indian citizen has. Ten rupees and one page of plain paper can extract a sanction order, a tender file, an inspection report or the reasons a file has not moved for two years. What it cannot do is extract an opinion, a justification or an answer the public authority does not hold.
Most RTI applications fail for reasons that have nothing to do with the law: the wrong public authority, a question framed as an accusation, or a request for information that falls within an exemption. This guide sets out the statutory timeline, the drafting discipline that produces answers, the appeal route in West Bengal, and the penalties that apply when an officer simply ignores the request.
The Statutory Framework
Section 2(f) defines “information” as any material in any form, including records, documents, memos, emails, opinions, advices, press releases, circulars, orders, logbooks, contracts, reports, papers, samples, models and data held in electronic form. Section 2(j) defines a “public authority” as any authority or body constituted by the Constitution, by law, by notification, or owned, controlled or substantially financed by government funds. Section 3 confers the right on all citizens.
Section 6 governs the request. It may be made in writing or electronically, in English, Hindi or the official language of the area, with the prescribed fee, and the applicant is not required to give a reason for seeking the information. Section 6(3) requires the public authority, where the information is held by another authority, to transfer the request within five days and inform the applicant.
Section 7 sets the timeline. The Public Information Officer must dispose of the request within thirty days of receipt, and within forty-eight hours where the information concerns the life or liberty of a person. Where a fee is payable for further particulars, the period between the intimation and the payment is excluded. Failure to respond within the period is a deemed refusal, which itself is appealable.
Section 8 lists the exemptions: national security and strategic interests, court contempt, parliamentary privilege, trade secrets and commercial confidence, fiduciary information, information received in confidence from a foreign government, information whose disclosure would endanger life or physical safety, and personal information that has no relationship to any public activity or interest. Section 8(2) allows disclosure where the public interest outweighs the harm. Section 10 permits access to the non-exempt part of a record where the rest is exempt, and Section 11 requires the PIO to consult a third party before disclosing information supplied by that party.
Section 4 requires every public authority to publish specified categories of information proactively, which means a large amount of material should be available without an application at all. Section 24 excludes certain intelligence and security organisations from the Act, though even those organisations remain covered for information relating to allegations of corruption and human rights violations.
The Filing Sequence
- Identify the public authority that holds the record. Property records sit with the Kolkata Municipal Corporation or the land records office, police complaint status with the concerned police station or the commissionerate, service matters with the department’s establishment section, and municipal contracts with the department that awarded them. Naming the wrong authority wastes a month.
- Identify the PIO by designation. Address the application to “The Public Information Officer” of that authority. Most departments publish the PIO’s name and office on their website and at the reception.
- Draft the request. State your name, address and that you are an Indian citizen. Ask numbered, specific questions with the period covered. Request certified copies, or inspection where the file is voluminous.
- Pay the fee. The application fee is ten rupees. It is commonly paid by court fee stamp, Indian postal order, demand draft or, for central government departments, through the online RTI portal. Applicants holding a below-poverty-line card are exempt and should attach a copy of the card.
- Submit and acknowledge. Submit in person at the receiving counter and obtain a stamped receipt, or send by registered post with acknowledgement due, or file online where the portal covers that authority. Keep the receipt: it establishes the date from which the thirty days run.
- Track the response. If no reply arrives within thirty days, the refusal is deemed and the appeal clock starts. Do not wait for a reply that will not come.
- File the first appeal. Under Section 19(1), an appeal lies within thirty days to the officer senior in rank to the PIO. The appeal can challenge refusal, delay, incomplete information, or the demand of an excessive fee.
- File the second appeal. Under Section 19(3), a second appeal lies within ninety days to the State Information Commission for state authorities, or the Central Information Commission for central authorities. Delays are condoned where sufficient cause is shown.
Documents to Keep With the File
- Copy of the application, signed and dated, with the questions numbered
- Proof of fee paid, and the BPL card copy where exemption is claimed
- Receipt from the counter, postal receipt and acknowledgement card
- Portal acknowledgement number, where filed online
- Copy of the PIO’s reply, and of any transfer memo under Section 6(3)
- Copy of the first appeal with its proof of service
- Orders of the appellate authority and of the Information Commission
Timelines and Cost Drivers
| Stage | Statutory timeline | What affects it |
|---|---|---|
| PIO’s reply | 30 days from receipt | Clarity of the questions, volume of records |
| Life or liberty matters | 48 hours | Whether the urgency is demonstrated in the application |
| Transfer to another authority | 5 days | Correct identification of the holder of the record |
| First appeal | Within 30 days of reply or expiry | Whether the appeal is filed by the applicant in time |
| Second appeal | Within 90 days of the first appeal order | Commission registry practice and listing |
| Penalty on the PIO | 250 rupees per day, capped at 25,000 rupees | Commission’s finding of refusal without reasonable cause |
The application fee is ten rupees and there is no fee for the first appeal. A second appeal before the Commission is also free, though a lawyer’s fee is not recoverable. Where copying charges apply, they are levied per page at the rate notified by the authority, and the PIO must intimate the amount before supplying the copies.
Why Applications Fail
Asking for an opinion rather than a record
“Why was my application rejected?” invites a reply that the information is not held. “Provide a copy of the note-sheet and the rejection order dated 12 March, along with the name and designation of the approving officer” produces documents.
Questions too broad to answer
A request for “all files relating to road repairs in Ward 62 since 2010” will be met with a demand for clarification or a claim that the request is voluminous. Narrow the period, name the work, and ask for identified documents.
Personal information without public interest
Section 8(1)(j) protects personal information with no relationship to public activity. Asking for a neighbour’s service record will be refused; asking for the attendance register of a public office, or the criteria and marks of a selection process, is a different matter.
Filing with the wrong department
The five-day transfer rule helps, but only if the PIO applies it. Many simply reply that the information is not held, which leaves the applicant to start again. Verify the holder of the record before filing.
Not appealing a deemed refusal
Silence is a refusal in law, and it is the strongest ground for a penalty. Applicants who wait months for a reply lose the chance to put the officer’s conduct on record before the Commission.
RTI in Kolkata: Who to Approach
State government departments, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, the Kolkata Police, the West Bengal Housing Board and state public sector undertakings each have their own PIOs and first appellate authorities. The state-level second appeal lies to the West Bengal Information Commission, which sits in Kolkata and hears appeals through its designated benches.
Central government offices in the city — the Regional Passport Office, the Income Tax Department, the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation, public sector banks and the Calcutta High Court’s administrative side — have their own PIOs, and their second appeals go to the Central Information Commission. Those offices are covered by the central online portal, which generates its own acknowledgement and is often faster than a physical filing.
Where the information concerns a court case, the distinction matters. Information about the administrative functioning of the court is obtainable, but information about the judicial decision-making process, including the reasons for a judicial order, is not, because the remedy is an appeal, not an RTI application. Certified copies of orders are obtained from the copying department under the court rules.