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+{{htmlmetatags>metatag-keywords=(section 20 rti act, rti penalty, rs 25000 rti penalty, pio personal liability, rti disciplinary action)
+metatag-description=(Section 20 of the RTI Act — personal penalty on erring Public Information Officer up to Rs 25,000. Full reference with enforcement trends, recovery, and drafting strategy, 2026.)}}
+====== Section 20 — Penalties ======
+{{ :social:auto:act-section-20.png?direct&1200 |Section 20 — Penalties on the PIO]]
+{{page>snippets:dpdp-banner}}
+<WRAP center round info 95%>
+**In one line:** Section 20 empowers the Information Commission to impose a **personal penalty** of Rs 250 per day up to a ceiling of **Rs 25,000** on the Public Information Officer for wilful refusal, mala fide denial, persistent delay, destruction of records, or knowingly giving false information. The penalty is **ad personam** — payable from the officer's salary, not the department budget.
+</WRAP>
+===== When Section 20 applies =====
+  * **Refused to receive** an application.
+  * **Not furnished** information within the time specified.
+  * **Malafide denied** the request.
+  * **Knowingly given** incorrect, incomplete, or misleading information.
+  * **Destroyed** information which was the subject of the request.
+  * **Obstructed** in any manner the furnishing of the information.
+===== Penalty arithmetic =====
+Rs 250 per day from the day the information was due, capped at Rs 25,000. For a 30-day delay, the daily penalty capped at Rs 7,500; for a 100-day delay, the full ceiling applies.
+===== Section 20(2) — disciplinary action =====
+The Commission "may recommend disciplinary action" against the PIO under the service rules. This is a **separate** consequence — it goes on the officer's permanent service file. Some Commissions use it to signal seriousness even when the monetary penalty has been avoided (e.g. where the officer shows cause).
+===== Enforcement trends (2023-24) =====
+  * CIC imposed **2,341 personal penalty orders** aggregating over Rs 3.8 crore.
+  * **Only ~35 percent recovered** from officer salaries; rest stuck in departmental processing.
+  * CIC in //Subhash Chandra Agarwal v. CPIO SC//, (2020) 5 SCC 481 noted the need for officer-wise recovery reports.
+===== Landmark rulings =====
+  * **//Mujibur Rahman v. CIC//, Delhi HC** — reasonable opportunity of hearing is mandatory before imposing Section 20 penalty.
+  * **//Manohar Parrikar v. Shripad Balkrishna Desai//, SC (2013)** — confirms personal liability.
+  * CIC practice directions have repeatedly clarified that the penalty cannot be recovered from the public exchequer.
+===== Drafting a Section 20 prayer =====
+In the second appeal:
+<code>
+The CPIO, Shri [Name], Designation [X], has persistently
+failed to dispose of the appellant's RTI application and
+has given evasive, non-speaking replies. The pattern
+demonstrates mala fides under Section 20(1).
+The appellant prays that:
+(a) The maximum penalty of Rs 25,000 be imposed on the
+    CPIO personally under Section 20(1);
+(b) Disciplinary action be recommended to the cadre-
+    controlling authority under Section 20(2);
+(c) The recovery be made from the CPIO's salary directly,
+    with a recovery certificate placed on record.
+</code>
+===== Related =====
+  * [[act|Back to the full RTI Act]]
+  * [[act:section-5|Section 5 — Deemed CPIO chain]]
+  * [[act:section-7|Section 7 — Timelines]]
+  * [[act:section-19|Section 19 — Appeals]]
+  * [[:explanations:vicarious-liability|Vicarious liability — detailed]]
+  * [[:explanations:deemed-cpio|Deemed CPIO — Section 5(5)]]
+  * [[:templates:second-appeal|Second Appeal template (with Section 20 prayer)]]
+===== Sources =====
+  - RTI Act, 2005, Section 20.
+  - //Mujibur Rahman v. CIC//, Delhi HC.
+  - //Manohar Parrikar v. Shripad Balkrishna Desai//, SC (2013).
+  - //CPIO SC v. Subhash Chandra Agarwal//, (2020) 5 SCC 481.
+  - CIC Annual Report 2023-24.
+//Last reviewed on: 21 April 2026//
+{{tag>rti act section-20 penalty enforcement cic 2026}}

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