Reason behind a decision

[shrinivas_v]

1) Can I get information about a reason behind a particular decision taken by government officials ?
2) If any govt. authority is not obeying the rules, can RTI help me ?
means can i ask under which clause they are not following rules?

[maneesh]

Yes, You can.
You can ask for the reason for arriving at a particular decision. You can also inspect all records pertaining to that decision.


You can ask for the rules and regulation and then ask for the work done in that regard from the Govt. Authority.

[kushal]

1. Every Government Action and decision is based upon interpretation of law/rules/act and set procedures. In many ways you can get to know the deviation:
   • Asking for the note sheet of the decision so made, many a times the reason is generally obvious by reading the decision.
   • By inspecting the documents, any arbitrariness in the process can be seen.
2. RTI Act can help you get information but not opinion. So you can get the information regarding rules prescribed, the decision so made as told by Maneesh and you are left to come to conclusion regarding the deviation; however getting to know

   which clause they are not following rules

   is something not documented, or else would have already been under investigation in the Department/Ministry.

[chanda_s]

one may ask for reason, but i think unless the reason itself has been documented as 'information' as defined in the act, technically it may not be possibly provided.

and perhaps even if the reason were to be documented, it is again upto the PIO to interpret it as the exact reason. the best thing may therefore be to ask for the note sheet. correct me if i am wrong.

say like somebody asks a department as to the reasons why a particular officer was transferred to some place, the question would come under the purview of the act only if some body has already documented in some form like a note sheet why the transfer needs to be made.

[apaul]

the file (including notesheets) which comes into being as a result of your application filed under the RTI Act, is very much part of the "information" under the Act. You may call for further information/ inspect the file as suggested by mannesh, kushal and chanda s.
However, to avoid any technical "mistakes"(?) on your part, it is also advisable to file an appeal if the decision of the CPIO is not acceptable to you, as there is a time limit of 30 days for filing further appeal.