Tamil Nadu - Apply for Right To Information (RTI)

ProcedureEdit

Apply in person

The request shall be in writing or through electronic means in English or Tamil or in the official language of the area in which the application is made.
The full name, address, particulars of information required and other relevant reference, if any, are to be clearly specified in the application.
The application shall be accompanied by the prescribed fee.
The application fee is Rs.10/- The application fee shall be paid in any of the following manners.
1. by affixing court fee stamp; or
2. by cash remittance against proper receipt in the office of the State Public Information Officer/ State Assistant Public Information Officer, as the case may be; or
3. by demand draft/bankers' cheque /pay order payable to the State Public Information Officer/State Assistant Public Information Officer; Provided that in the case of public authorities other than the Government Departments, the fee shall be remitted to the account of such public authority as provided in.
The application shall be made to the Tamil Nadu Information Commission (State Public Information Officer of the concerned Public Authority or the State Asstt. Public Information Officer as the case may be) specifying the particulars of information sought for by him.
Where the applicant cannot make the request in writing, the State Public Information Officer shall render all reasonable assistance to the person making the request to reduce the oral request into a written request.
Person's below poverty line is not required to remit the application fee. However, they are required to produce respective certificate respectively.

Note : An applicant is not required to give any reason for requesting the information or any other personal details except those that may be necessary for contacting him.

Apply online

Please visit the website : online
And select “Submit request” option from the menu.
In the new screen, please select appropriate option and hit Submit for new page.
The given new page will prompt the user to enter / select appropriate details.
Please complete filling the details followed by uploading appropriate documents and hit submit to get sms alert in mobile as well as to reach the next screen.
User gets popup for the confirmation of details as provided for applying. If all are OK, hit “Save” to go next screen.
In the given screen, select appropriate options and proceed for payment gateway.
In the payment gateway page select and fill applicable details to process online payment.
Once the online payment process is complete, you will get an acknowledgement for the query. Please keep it for future reference.

Required DocumentsEdit

Request to the PIO must be in writing.
Aadhaar Card

Office Locations & ContactsEdit

Tamil Nadu Information Commission:
No.2, Theagaraya Salai, Near Aalai Amman Koil,
Teynampet, Chennai - 600 018.
(Post Box No. 6405, Teynampet, Chennai - 600 018)
Phone: 044- 24347590
Fax: 044 - 24357580
email : [email protected]

Link for contact information: Tamilnadu information commission

EligibilityEdit

Citizens of India

FeesEdit

No fees for Below Poverty Line applicant
Application: Rs 10
Mode of payment: Cash, Demand draft or bankers chequ

Note: If information is not given within time limit it must be given free of cost

Additional Fees

A-4 / A-3 paper: Rs 2 per page
Large size paper: Actual cost
Publication and printed form: At price so fixed of publication or at Rs 2 per page per page photocopy or in printed form
Samples and Models: Actual cost
Floppy/CD/diskette or any other electronic mode: Rs.50/-
Inspection of records: Free for first hour and Rs 5 for each 1 hour or a fraction thereof;

Second Appeals and complaints against non-disclosure of information may be filed with the Tamil Nadu State Information Commission.

ValidityEdit

Here validity refers to the information obtained with respect to the query.

Documents to UseEdit

Apply in plain paper (No form or document is prescribed) in English or Tamil to the concerned Public Information Officer of the public authority. Applicants can therefore use sample format shown below.

Sample DocumentsEdit

Please attach sample completed documents which would help other people who would like to follow this procedure.

Processing TimeEdit

Information requested by the citizen is to be provided within 30 days, 48 hours where life or liberty is involved, 35 days where request is given to Asst. PIO, 40 days where third party is involved and 45 days for human rights violation information from listed security/ intelligence agencies.
Time taken for calculation and intimation of fees excluded from the time frame.

InstructionsEdit

Right to information Act 2005 empowers every citizen to

Ask Questions from the Government or seek any information
Take copies of any government documents
Inspect any government documents
Inspect any government works
Take samples of materials of any government work

Application Process

Apply in person or electronically in English or local official Language.
Time limit of giving information is 30 days
If information concerns life and liberty of a person then the information must be given within 48 hours
If information is given by third party then invite objections if any then it will take another 10 days extra.

Required InformationEdit

Name of the applicant
Full Address
Phone / Mobile Number
Particulars of required information

Need for the DocumentEdit

Tamil Nadu was the first state in India to enact an access law, namely the Tamil Nadu Right to Information Act 1997. The Act was passed by the Legislative Assembly in the first half of 1997, received the assent of the Governor on 4 May 1997 and was notified the following day. It is notable that the government initiated the process of developing a law. There was no civil society movement advocating for the right to information in the State.

Though it was positive that Tamil Nadu was the first state to pass an access to information law, in fact the law is weak and has been widely criticised by civil society. Most problematically, the Act has 21 exemptions, including 12 sub-clauses, many of which are unclear in their application. Appeals are available, but only internally rather than to an independent body. The Act also fails to require proactive information disclosure by the Government.

In May 2005, the national Right to Information Act 2005 was passed by Parliament. The RTI Act 2005 received Presidential assent on 15 June and came fully into force on 12 October 2005. (For more information on the passage of the Act and implementation at the national level, click here.) The RTI Act 2005 covers all Central, State and local government bodies.

It is not clear at this time as to whether the Tamil Nadu RTI Act will be repealed. Notably though, the Tamil Nadu Government has already taken some initial steps to implement the new national RTI Act.

Information which might helpEdit

The following information is exempt from disclosure under Section 8 of the RTI Act.

Information, disclosure of which would prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security, strategic, scientific or economic interests of the State, relation with foreign State or lead to incitement of an offence;
Information which has been expressly forbidden to be published by any court of law or tribunal or the disclosure of which may constitute contempt of court;
Information, the disclosure of which would cause of breach of privilege of Parliament or the State Legislature;
Information including commercial confidence, trade secrets or intellectual property, the disclosure of which would harm the competitive position of a third party, unless the competent authority is satisfied that larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information;
Information available to a person in his fiduciary relationship, unless the competent authority is satisfied that the larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information;
Information received in confidence from foreign Government;
Information, the disclosure of which would endanger the life or physical safety of any person or identify the source of information or assistance given in confidence for law enforcement or security purposes;
Information which would impede the process of investigation or apprehension or prosecution of offenders;
Cabinet papers including records of deliberations of the Council of Ministers, Secretaries and other officers;
Information which relates to personal information the disclosure of which has no relationship to any public activity or interest, or which would cause unwarranted invasion of the privacy of the individual;
Only that part of the record which does not contain any information which is exempt from disclosure and which can reasonably be served from any part that contains exempt information, may be provided.
Third parties have a right to be heard in respect of applications and appeals dealing with information submitted by them to the Government in confidence.
PIO may reject a request for information where such a request for providing access would involve an infringement of copyright subsisting in a person other than the State.

IC can penalise PIO Rs. 250/- per day up to a maximum of Rs. 25,000/- for -

Refusal to receive application without reasonable cause
Not furnishing information within time limit without reasonable cause
Malafidely denying information without reasonable cause

For persistent violation of the law IC can recommend disciplinary action

Knowingly giving incorrect, incomplete, misleading information
Destroying information which was the subject of request
Obstructing furnishing of information in any manner

External LinksEdit

RTI Portal of India

OthersEdit

More information which might help people.