CENTRAL INFORMATION COMMISSION
Club Building (Near Post Office)
Old JNU Campus, New Delhi - 110067
Tel: +91-11-26161796
Decision No. CIC/SM/C/2011/000125/SG/12167
Complaint No. CIC/SM/C/2011/000125/SG
Complainant : Mr. L. Madhu Kumar,
ITAT, 5th Floor, LIC Building,
Jeevitha Bima Road,
Vishakapatnam- 530004
Respondent : Public Information Officer,
Staff Selection Commission (Northern
Region), Government of India,
Block No. 12, 5th Floor, CGO Complex,
Lodhi Road, New Delhi
Facts
arising from the Complaint:
The Complainant filed a RTI application with the Deputy Secretary, Staff Selection Commission
(Northern Region) on 25/05/2010 asking for certain information. On not having received any
information, the Complainant filed a Complaint under Section 18 of the RTI Act with the
Commission.
Observations:
On perusal of the RTI application dated 25/05/2010, the Commission noted that the Complainant,
in an earlier application dated 03/07/2008, had paid a fee of Rs. 100 and prayed that therefore,
payment of fees be exempted in the instant case.
Section 6(1) of the RTI Act stipulates that a person who desires to obtain any information from a
public authority shall make a request in writing along with the prescribed fees. Rule 3 of the
Right to Information (Regulation of Fee and Cost) Rules, 2005 (the “RTI Rules”) lays down that
a request for information under Section 6(1) of the RTI Act shall be accompanied by an
application fee of Rs. 10 by way of cash against proper receipt or by demand draft or banker’s
cheque or IPO payable to the Accounts Officer of the public authority.
In the instant case, the Complainant was required to deposit an application fee of Rs. 10 along
with the RTI application dated 25/05/2010 in the manner prescribed above. As per the applicable
law, the PIO was required to only accept IPO of Rs. 10 as application fee along with the RTI
application dated 25/05/2010. The Complainant cannot be exempted from payment of fees as
prescribed under law merely because he had paid certain fees along with another application at a
previous date. The PIO does not have the power to allow any such exemption of fees, as prayed
for by the Complainant.
Decision:
The Complaint is dismissed.
Notice of this decision be given free of cost to the parties.
Shailesh Gandhi
Information Commissioner
April 27, 2011
(In any correspondence on this decision, mention the complete decision number.)(DG)