1. Since the provisions of the
RTI Act are evoked only after requests for information under normal channels are exhausted, it follows that the employee will be fully justified in submitting the application directly to the
PIO of the department concerned. He ought to get a cogent reply withing 30 days. If the application was submitted to his local controlling officer, then the latter must forward it to the appropriate
PIO within 5 days and inform the applicant in writing. The applicant in this case should receive a cogent reply from the concerned
PIO within 35 days of the submission.
2. If satisfactory information was not forthcoming because of a defect in the application, then a reapplication is indicated. Otherwise, an appeal tom the apellate authority is to be done.
3. The Law nowhere specifies this "through proper channel" stuff. It is not required as far as
RTI is concerned. As a safeguard, it should be evoked only after he has requested the information a reasonable number of times without success. And if the government employee is concerned about alienating the authority, then he should refrain from evoking the
RTI. The essence of the
RTI is to pry out information that the authority holds on to, usually for no respectable reason.
PLEASE REACT TO THIS TOPIC, BECAUSE THIS IS ONE HELLUVA IMPORTANT ONE.
Regards.