My activist colleagues and I frequently get phone calls from frustrated RTI Applicants, asking whether to go in Appeal under Section 19 of RTI Act 2005, or lodge a complaint with SIC / CIC under Section 18. There is a clear line of distinction between Appeal and Complaint, although many State and Central Information Commissioners blur this clear line by holding similar hearings and passing similar Orders for both.
Appellants can use Section 18 to improve their chances of getting Public Information Officers (PIOs) penalized by sacrificing their demand for getting the requested information. A strictly legal interpretation of this section leaves the PIO and the public authority (and also the Information Commissioner) with relatively less scope for escaping.
Please read section 18(3) with care. It says: "The Information Commission shall, while inquiring into any matter under this section, have the same powers as are vested in a civil court while trying a suit under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, in respect of the following matters "
Please note: Sec 18(3) confers the special civil-court-like powers only while enquiring into Complaints u/s 18, and not while deciding on Appeals u/s 19.
Download detailed comparison of Complaint and Appeal: http://www.box.net/shared/p20d7kntrc
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