In the year since the Central Right to Information Act came into effect, the Central Information Commission (CIC), the apex appellate authority, has not got even one of the three officials on whom it imposed fines to pay up.

In contrast, state-level commissions that have imposed fines and managed to make the erring officials pay up for not providing information sought by a citizen.

The CIC, which handles cases related to the Central Government, the Delhi Government, and all Union Territory administrations, has disposed of 2,081 appeals since inception last October and imposed fines on three public information officers (PIOs). In one case, the commission has withdrawn the penalty order.

However, enforcement of the order in the other two cases is proving no different a story than is seen at many government departments. One PIO has refused to pay the fine. And the other has not paid so far — the order does not mention a deadline by which he should pay. The RTI Act gives Central and State Information Commissions the power to impose a penalty if they find the PIO has not provided information within 30 days, or provided false or incomplete information, unless there is reasonable cause.

RTI experts say it is this penalty clause that is the key to making the Act work. Says Magsaysay Award winner Aruna Roy, “The penalty clause is an extremely important clause, without which the Act is ineffective. If malafide is found on part of officials, they should be strongly and severely punished. It will not only protect people from being denied information in the future, but will also send out a strong message to officials that they cannot afford to withhold information.” Another RTI activist, Nikhil Dey, says when the Act was being formulated there was stiff opposition from the bureaucracy to the penalty clause and activists like him fought hard to get it included. He says whatever good has come of the Act was because officials are afraid of being fined. Experts say that if the CIC shows such leniency, it could undo what good the Act is doing.

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