Section 7 of RTI Act : Section 7: Disposal Of Request

Explanation using Example

Imagine a citizen, Mr. Sharma, has submitted a request under the Right to Information Act to the State Public Information Officer (SPIO) of the Health Department seeking details about the government's spending on a recent public health campaign. Mr. Sharma is concerned about the transparency of the expenditures and wishes to know how the funds were allocated.

Under Section 7(1), the SPIO is required to respond to Mr. Sharma's request expeditiously, and no later than thirty days from the receipt of the request. If the information pertains to the life or liberty of a person, it must be provided within forty-eight hours, but that is not the case here.

If the SPIO does not respond within the 30-day period, according to Section 7(2), it would be deemed as a refusal of the request.

In this scenario, let's say the SPIO decides to provide the information but at a certain cost. According to Section 7(3), the SPIO must send Mr. Sharma an intimation detailing the fee calculated for providing the information and inform him of his rights to review this decision, including how to appeal and the time limit for doing so.

If Mr. Sharma is sensorily disabled, which he is not, Section 7(4) would require the SPIO to provide assistance to access the information.

As per Section 7(5), Mr. Sharma would be required to pay the prescribed fee for the information unless he belongs to the below poverty line category, in which case the fee would be waived.

If the SPIO fails to provide the information within the prescribed 30-day period, Section 7(6) mandates that the information be provided to Mr. Sharma free of charge.

Before making a decision, under Section 7(7), the SPIO would consider any third-party representation, which is not applicable in Mr. Sharma's case as no third party is involved.

If the SPIO rejects Mr. Sharma's request, Section 7(8) requires that the rejection reasons, appeal process, and appellate authority details be communicated to him.

Finally, according to Section 7(9), the SPIO should provide the information in the form requested by Mr. Sharma unless it would disproportionately divert the department's resources or harm the record's safety or preservation.