Section 20 penalty petition format (2026)

Section 20(1) lists them; your petition should say which ones fit:

• (a) refused the request without reasonable cause;
• (b) did not supply the information within the time limit (30 days, or 48 hours where life or liberty is involved);
• © malafidely denied the request;
• (d) knowingly gave incorrect, incomplete or misleading information;
• (e) destroyed information or obstructed its supply in any manner;
• (f) failed to comply with the Act in any other way.

Most petitions run on (b) — the arithmetic of dates does the arguing.

• Petitioner name + full address (+ email/phone for hearing notices)
• PIO name + designation + office (ask by RTI or via §19 appeal if unknown — “the PIO, [office]” suffices to start)
• RTI application number + date + proof of delivery (registered post receipt / portal registration number)
• Date the PIO received it vs the date of reply — or “no reply till date”
• The delay calculation: days beyond the deadline × ₹250
• A short public-interest impact line (why the information mattered)
• Prayer: penalty under §20(1) + departmental action under §20(2) + supply of the information with §19(3) directions
• Enclosures: RTI application, delivery proof, PIO reply (if any), first-appeal filing + FAA order (if any)

BEFORE THE [CENTRAL / <STATE>] INFORMATION COMMISSION

Second Appeal under Section 19(3) RTI Act 2005,
with prayer for penalty under Section 20(1) and (2)

Appellant : [Name], [Full address], [Phone], [Email]
Respondent: [Name], PIO, [Office + address]

1. The appellant filed an RTI application no. [NUMBER] on [DATE]
   addressed to the PIO, [Office], delivered on [DATE] (proof enclosed).

2. The statutory period of 30 days under Section 7(1) expired on [DATE].
   [Choose:] (a) No reply has been received to date. / (b) The reply dated
   [DATE] was received after [N] days, i.e. [N] days beyond the statutory
   period. / (c) The reply refuses the information without reasons.

3. A first appeal was filed on [DATE] [Registration/office no.]. The FAA
   [Choose:] passed no order / upheld the refusal (copy enclosed).

4. The delay/denial attracts Section 20(1): penalty of Rs 250 per day of
   delay, up to Rs 25,000, on the PIO personally. As on [DATE], the delay
   is [N] days beyond the statutory period.

5. The PIO has not shown, and cannot show, reasonable cause: the file
   [Choose:] shows no movement / shows the information was available.

PRAY: The Commission be pleased to
  (a) direct supply of the information free of charge under Section 7(6);
  (b) impose penalty under Section 20(1) on the Respondent; and
  (c) recommend disciplinary action under Section 20(2), the default being
      [Choose:] a single instance / a repeated default.

[Place + date]
[Signature]
[Name]

• Central public authority → CIC, online at cic.gov.in (e-filing for second appeals/complaints) or by post to the CIC, August Kranti Bhawan, Bhikaji Cama Place, New Delhi — 110066. Free.
• State public authority → your State Information Commission; most SICs take postal filings, some have portals; a few charge a small fee for second appeals — check your SIC's site before sending.
• Timing: second appeal within 90 days of the FAA's order (or the date it was due). The Commission can condone delay with cause shown — but do not rely on that.
• §18 complaint vs §19 appeal: a §18 complaint alone cannot get you the information ordered supplied (the Supreme Court said so in CBSE v. Aditya Bandopadhyay, 2011) — so if you want the records, the §19(3) second appeal is the vehicle, with §20 as the prayer.

• The dates ARE the case: carry delivery proof, the reply envelope/postmark, portal printouts. Commissions decide §20 mostly on the arithmetic.
• If the PIO pleads workload/system failure, that is a cause, not a “reasonable cause” — the Commissions have fined through exactly that excuse; say so politely.
• Ask for the information to be supplied free of charge under §7(6) — it follows from deemed refusal/delay.
• Do not overreach: penalty is for the PIO's default, not compensation for your feelings. (Actual compensation for detriment needs §19(8)(b) — plead it separately, with proof of loss.)

• Filing a “penalty petition” as a standalone letter with no appeal or complaint around it — the Commission needs a proceeding (§19 appeal or §18 complaint) to sit in.
• No proof of the delivery date — the 30-day clock runs from receipt, and unproven dates collapse.
• Naming the office instead of the PIO — name both; the penalty is personal.
• Claiming the full ₹25,000 as of right — the Commission sets the quantum from the delay and the PIO's conduct; your job is only to establish the default.

Yes — §20(1) penalty is recovered from the PIO's salary personally, not from the office budget. That is precisely why it moves files.

Commissions have proceeded against serving and recently-retired officers; retirement does not erase a defaulted statutory duty — plead the dates and leave the Commission to decide.

Yes, as separate prayers: §20(1) penalty (punitive) and §19(8)(b) compensation for detriment suffered (prove the loss — expense, lost benefit).

Say so in the appeal — non-compliance with an FAA order is the strongest §20(1)(a)/(f) posture there is, and §20(2) becomes natural.

Register-number in hand, wait for the hearing notice; if months pass with nothing, an RTI to the Commission's own registry (CPIO, Information Commission) asking for listing date and bench often produces a listing letter within weeks. The Commission is itself a public authority.

• Second appeal form — CIC
• All 20 RTI forms + downloads
• RTI fees by state
• Helplines + grievance routes
• Full RTI Playbook
• The RTI Playbook book

Last reviewed: 27 August 2026. Section 20 grounds, Rs 250/day–Rs 25,000 ceiling, s.20(2) disciplinary action, s.19(3) 90-day window and the s.18/s.19 division per CBSE v. Aditya Bandopadhyay (SC 2011) checked against the Act and settled Commission practice.