As per the RTI Act, the commission proceeds to consider complaints when necessary under section 18 of the RTI Act: Ratnakar Gaikwad
A circular of the State Information Commission (SIC) states that you cannot file your complaint after 90 days unless the commission is satisfied. The circular that is dated September 2015 sprung up after a complainant wanted to file a complaint on non-compliance of SIC order after 90 days had passed.
RTI applicant and Pune resident Vihar Durve had approached the information commission to file complaint on non-compliance of SIC order. SIC had given its order in June. Durve was following up the order but no compliance took place. The order had asked the public authority to put up all the information online.
“When I went to file a complaint, the officer told me that as per the circular, they will not accept it and it will not be heard because 90 days have passed since the SIC order,” said Durve.
He added, “The RTI Act puts no such limit on filing of complaints unlike the first appeal and the second appeal.” As per RTI Act, time limit is only specified under which applicant should be getting information, in the time in which he can file first and second appeal.
“For complaints there is no such time restriction. Any rule cannot contravene the RTI Act itself. The SC order at the most says that during complaints, you cannot provide information. This will not come under reasonable assistance that commission’s officers should provide. Why does the commission and its staff not take up the non-compliance with authorities instead,” said Dhurve.
The authorities are supposed to provide compliance report but they never do. If they had taken such a decision, they should have mentioned in all their orders that the complaint can be filed only in given number of days.The rule is also against the SC orders that states that there is no time limit as such for tribunals,” he added.
“As per the RTI Act, the commission proceeds to consider complaints when necessary under section 18 of the RTI Act. The commission is well within its rights to consider complaints based on certain norms. There has to be a time limit for filing complaints,” said Ratnakar Gaikwad, State Chief Information Commissioner.
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 "Ratnakar Gaikwad")
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