APPLYING THE LAW

What If Your Organisation Holds None Or Only Some Of The Information?

Some Indian RTI laws specifically require that where an application is received by your organisation but the information requested is not held by your organisation, that you need to transfer the application to the body which does hold the information. Transferring an application, instead of rejecting it, saves the requester's time and money and sheds a positive light on the bureaucracy.

Under Section 6(3) of the Central Act, you can transfer an application where an application relates to information which is "held by another body" or the subject mater of the application "is more closely connected with the functions of another public authority". This provision can be used to transfer all or only part of an application.

If you transfer all or part of an application, you are required to immediately advise the requester of what you have done. The initial advice can be done by telephone, but you should also send them a written notice letting them know which body you have transferred their request to, why you have transferred it and when. The Act explicitly requires that any transfer must be done within 5 days from receiving the application.

If an application is transferred to your organisation, you should try to respond to it within the original time limit that applied to the application, ie. if it was submitted on 1 April and the Act imposes a 30 day time limit on requests, you should try to reply by 1 May. If you cannot reply in time, then you should respond within the maximum time limits permitted under the Act for initial requests, ie. if it was submitted on 1 April, it was transferred to you on 5 April and your Act imposes a 30 day time limit on requests, you should respond by no later than 5 May.

Where your organisation holds some information, but you believe that another organisation(s) probably also holds some information that is relevant to an application, you will need to work with the other organisation(s) to collect all the information relevant to the application. Ideally, the requester should not have to submit multiple applications. When the requester submits an application to your organisation, in their mind they are submitting it to the "Government" in general. They do not care who holds the information - they only care that everyone in government works together and gives them what they asked for. This is in line with international best practice - most international RTI laws will explicitly require that organisations work together to respond to applications.

Where your organisation holds information created by another government body, you will be responsible for responding to the application (because you are in control of the information), but if you wish to, you may still want to ask the public authority which created the information for their advice on whether to release the information. This recognises that the creator of the information might better understand the sensitivities of the information and will be aware of whether it is covered by an exemption.

Please click on the link to the Central RTI Act to read the detailed provisions contained in the law. Please click on the link to CHRI's State RTI pages to find out more about relevant rules and implementation in your specific State.