Section 12 of RTI Act : Section 12: Constitution Of Central Information Commission

Explanation using Example

Imagine a journalist named Ravi who specializes in public interest reporting. Ravi has been investigating a government scheme meant to provide affordable housing to the underprivileged. He suspects there's been a misallocation of funds, but he needs more information to confirm this.

Ravi files a Right to Information (RTI) request to obtain details about the scheme's budget and disbursement records. His request is initially denied by the concerned government department, so he decides to file an appeal.

The appeal goes to the Central Information Commission (CIC), which was constituted under Section 12 of the Right to Information Act, 2005. The CIC, headed by the Chief Information Commissioner and comprising up to ten other Information Commissioners, reviews Ravi's case.

As per the Act, the Chief Information Commissioner and the Information Commissioners, who are persons of eminence with experience in various fields like law and journalism, are appointed by the President based on the recommendations of a committee including the Prime Minister, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, and a Union Cabinet Minister nominated by the Prime Minister.

After reviewing the documents and hearing Ravi's argument, the CIC, exercising its powers autonomously, directs the government department to provide Ravi with the requested information, thereby enabling him to complete his investigation and report on the potential misuse of public funds.