FAA Powers vs Commission Powers Under RTI Section 19(8)

Many articles and even some draft first-appeal orders treat Section 19(8) as a menu the First Appellate Authority can dip into — awarding compensation, or “referring” a Section 20 penalty to the Information Commission. Neither exists in the Act. Section 19(8) empowers the Commission itself in its decision, and there is no referral mechanism anywhere in Sections 19 and 20. A first appeal that prays for compensation or penalty asks the FAA for something it cannot grant, and usually ends in avoidable delay.

Knowing the correct split is what makes the appeal ladder work. At the first appeal you press for disclosure, with the onus of justification on the PIO. At the second appeal you ask the Commission for the full remedy basket — disclosure directions, compensation, penalty and systemic directions.

• Section 19(1) — first appeal to an officer senior in rank to the PIO, within 30 days of the reply or the lapse of the reply period.
• Section 19(5) — in any appeal proceedings, the onus to prove that a denial was justified is on the PIO.
• Section 19(6) — the first appeal must be disposed of within 30 days, extendable to a total of 45 days for reasons recorded in writing.
• Section 19(3) — second appeal to the Central or State Information Commission within 90 days of the FAA's order (or the date it was due).
• Section 19(7) — the decision of the Information Commission shall be binding.
• Section 19(8)(a)–(d) — the Commission's powers in its decision: compliance steps, compensation, penalties, rejection.
• Section 7(6) — information must be supplied free of charge where the public authority failed to comply with the Section 7(1) time limits.
• Section 20(1) — penalty of Rs 250 per day up to Rs 25,000 on the PIO, imposed by the Commission while deciding a complaint or appeal.

• Section 19(8) powers belong to the Information Commission — never the FAA.
• The FAA can direct disclosure of the information, and direct it free of charge under Section 7(6) where timelines were missed.
• The FAA must decide within 30 days, extendable to 45 days with recorded reasons.
• Compensation (Section 19(8)(b)) and penalty (Section 19(8)© read with Section 20(1)) are second-stage remedies before the Commission.
• The onus of justifying the denial rests on the PIO at every stage (Section 19(5)) — say so in the first paragraph of every appeal.
• The Information Commission's decision is binding (Section 19(7)); the route past a bad FAA order is the second appeal, not an argument with the department.

1. Hear the appeal on merits — the PIO's denial must be justified on record, not merely repeated.
2. Direct disclosure — order the information released, in the form sought where reasonably practicable.
3. Order free supply under Section 7(6) — if the 30-day clock (or the 48-hour clock for information concerning the life or liberty of a person) was missed, the information is due free of charge.
4. Set a compliance timeline — a dated direction with a compliance report works better than an open-ended “provide the information”.
5. Record reasons and decide in 30 days — extendable to a total of 45 days only for reasons recorded in writing.
6. State the second-appeal right — the FAA's order should tell the appellant of the second appeal available under Section 19(3).

In its decision on a complaint or second appeal, the Commission may:

1. Require compliance steps (Section 19(8)(a)) — including providing access in a particular form, appointing a PIO where none exists, publishing categories of information, correcting record-keeping practices, improving RTI training, and furnishing the Section 4(1)(b) disclosures.
2. Award compensation (Section 19(8)(b)) — for any loss or other detriment suffered. Quantify it: extra travel, repeat applications, missed deadlines.
3. Impose penalties (Section 19(8)© read with Section 20(1)) — Rs 250 per day from the due date, up to Rs 25,000, where the PIO refused to receive the application, delayed without reasonable cause, denied the request mala fide, knowingly gave incorrect or misleading information, destroyed the record, or obstructed supply.
4. Reject the application (Section 19(8)(d)) — where the appeal or complaint has no merit.

ORDER under Section 19 — In the matter of First Appeal of [Applicant] v [Respondent PIO]

Having heard the parties and considered the record:

1. ON MERITS: The appeal is ALLOWED for the reasons recorded above. The PIO's
   reliance on Section [X] is unsustainable; the onus under Section 19(5) to
   justify the denial has not been discharged.

2. DIRECTION:
   The respondent PIO is directed to:
   (i) Provide complete information sought in queries [1, 3, 5] within 15 days
       of receipt of this order.
   (ii) Provide the information free of charge under Section 7(6), the
        statutory time limit having been exceeded.

3. COMPLIANCE: A compliance report shall be placed before this Authority
   within 21 days of this direction.

The appellant may prefer a second appeal under Section 19(3) before the
[Central / State] Information Commission within 90 days of this order.

[FAA Name, Designation, Office Stamp, Date]

And the prayer that belongs in the second appeal, not the first:

PRAYER in the second appeal under Section 19(3) before the Information Commission:
  1. Direct disclosure of the information under Section 19(8)(a).
  2. Award compensation under Section 19(8)(b) for loss and detriment —
     [quantify: travel, repeat applications, missed deadlines].
  3. Impose penalty under Section 20(1) at Rs 250 per day from [due date] to
     [date of compliance], subject to the ceiling of Rs 25,000, the PIO having
     acted without reasonable cause.
  4. For a pattern of denials, direct systemic steps under Section 19(8)(a) —
     publishing these categories of information and correcting office practice.

First appeal: FAA directs disclosure. If the denials repeat, second appeal: disclosure under Section 19(8)(a) + compensation under Section 19(8)(b) + Section 20(1) penalty for the serial refusal.

First appeal: FAA directs supply at the prescribed fee. Where overcharging is office practice, ask the Commission under Section 19(8)(a) to require a change in the fee-collection practice.

File notings can be disclosed unless a specific exemption actually covers their content — there is no blanket bar on notings. First appeal: FAA examines the notings and directs disclosure. On refusal, second appeal with the same prayer.

First appeal: FAA directs transfer of the application to the right public authority and a complete reply. Where the 30-day clock has run out, the information is due free of charge under Section 7(6).

• The RTI Playbook
• PIO and FAA knowledge base
• FAA appellate review checklist
• FAA privacy and public interest balancing
• Section 19 of the RTI Act — your two appeals
• Section 20 — when the PIO pays from own pocket

• Treating Section 19(8) as the FAA's power list — it belongs to the Information Commission, so prayers for compensation or penalty at first appeal cannot be granted.
• Asking the FAA to “refer” a Section 20 penalty — no referral mechanism exists; the Commission itself imposes the penalty under Section 19(8)© read with Section 20(1).
• Not claiming free supply under Section 7(6) where the reply deadline was missed — you are entitled to it by statute.
• Vague second-appeal prayers — ask specifically for each Section 19(8) power you want exercised, with the day count for Section 20(1) calculated.
• Missing the 90-day second-appeal window counted from the FAA's order or the date it was due.
• Forgetting Section 19(5) — the onus is on the PIO throughout; a denial that is merely repeated, not justified, should fall.

• Build a prayer menu for each stage — FAA: disclosure, free supply, compliance date; Commission: disclosure, compensation, penalty, systemic directions.
• Quantify the Section 20(1) day count in the second appeal — Rs 250 per day from the due date to the date of compliance, capped at Rs 25,000.
• For pattern cases (e.g. five similar denials at one office), ask the Commission to require publication of those information categories under Section 19(8)(a).
• Diary both limitation dates the day you file the application — 30 days for the first appeal, 90 days for the second.
• Lead with the Section 19(5) onus point; it frames the whole hearing.
• Use mandatory language in prayers — “direct”, not “request”.

No. Only the Information Commission can impose a Section 20(1) penalty, and it does so while deciding a complaint or second appeal. There is no referral mechanism — Section 19(8)© empowers the Commission itself to impose penalties.

No. Compensation for loss or detriment is a Commission power, exercised in its decision. Ask the FAA only for what it can give — disclosure and free supply — and take the compensation claim, quantified, to the second appeal.

The Information Commission's. Section 19(7) makes the Commission's decision binding. An FAA order is a direction from a senior officer inside the public authority; if it is ignored, your remedy is the second appeal under Section 19(3), where the Commission can direct compliance, award compensation and penalise the PIO.

Not under Section 19(8)(a) — that power belongs to the Commission, which can require a public authority to publish categories of information and meet its Section 4(1)(b) obligations. The FAA handles your specific request; systemic Section 4 failures go to the Commission.

File the second appeal within 90 days. The Commission can require compliance steps under Section 19(8)(a), award compensation under Section 19(8)(b), and impose the Section 20(1) penalty on the PIO for the continuing default.

RTI Act, 2005, sections 7(6), 19 and 20 — full text on India Code — RTI Act, 2005 (official text as maintained by the Central Information Commission).