Under Section 20 of the Right to Information Act, which of the following can impose a penalty?

Question

UnlockIAS · Accepted Answer

Correct — C, Central Information Commission or a State Information Commission. Section 20(1) of the RTI Act, 2005 empowers the Information Commission — the CIC for central public authorities, or the relevant SIC for state public authorities — to penalise a Public Information Officer who, without reasonable cause, refused a request, delayed it beyond the deadline, denied it mala fide, gave incomplete/incorrect/misleading information, or destroyed requested information.

Why the other options are wrong — (a) Incomplete. It ignores that a State Information Commission has the identical Section 20 penalty power over PIOs of state public authorities.  (b) Incomplete. It ignores that the Central Information Commission has the identical power over PIOs of central public authorities.  (d) Wrong — courts play no role in this administrative penalty; Section 20 vests the power only in the two Information Commissions.

Concept: Section 20 of the RTI Act is an accountability mechanism against errant PIOs, distinct from a citizen's right to appeal a refusal. It gives ONLY the Information Commissions — Central or State, whichever has jurisdiction over the public authority concerned — the power to fine a PIO for specified defaults, up to a statutory daily cap.

State PCS 2021 Q72 — Indian Polity PYQ with Answer

State PCS 2021 Q72 — Indian Polity PYQ with Answer