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cases:madras-hc-pio-penalty-2020 [2026/07/11 09:16] (current) – created - external edit 127.0.0.1
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 +{{htmlmetatags>metatag-keywords=(§20 penalty — Madras HC clarifications,High Court of Madras RTI,RTI §20,§20,penalty,mala fide,Madras HC,due diligence)&metatag-description=(§20 penalty requires specific demonstration of mala fide or negligence; blanket penalties on technical delays set aside.)&metatag-robots=(noindex,follow)}}
 +
 +====== §20 penalty — Madras HC clarifications ======
 +
 +<WRAP center round info 95%>
 +**High Court of Madras** · 2020-01-01 · Citation awaited
 +</WRAP>
 +
 +//§20 penalty requires specific mala-fide or persistent-negligence finding; formal 30-day delay alone is insufficient.//
 +
 +===== Case details =====
 +
 +^ Court | High Court of Madras |
 +^ Decided | 2020-01-01 |
 +^ Citation | Citation awaited |
 +^ Petitioner | PIO |
 +^ Respondent | State Information Commission |
 +^ RTI Act sections | §20(1) |
 +^ Outcome | Partly allowed |
 +
 +===== Outcome =====
 +
 +§20 penalty requires specific demonstration of mala fide or negligence; blanket penalties on technical delays set aside.
 +
 +===== Ratio decidendi =====
 +
 +A §20(1) penalty cannot be imposed merely because information was provided beyond the 30-day window. The Commission must record a specific finding of mala fide conduct or persistent negligence. Due diligence by the PIO, properly documented, is a defence.
 +
 +===== Keywords =====
 +
 +§20, penalty, mala fide, Madras HC, due diligence
 +
 +===== Similar cases in the corpus =====
 +
 +//These rulings have the closest editorial ratio to this case — computed by tf-idf cosine similarity over ratio, keywords and Act sections. Useful starting points if you are researching the same point of law.//
 +
 +  * [[/cases/madras-hc-rti-pension-delay-2022|Pension sanction delay — Madras HC]] (HC-MAD 2022)
 +  * [[/cases/sc-rti-section-6-3-transfer-rule-2022|§6(3) transfer — 5-day rule strict construction — SC]] (SC 2022)
 +  * [[/cases/madras-hc-rti-contempt-of-commission-2020|Defying Commission order — Madras HC]] (HC-MAD 2020)
 +  * [[/important-decisions/court/bhagat-singh-vs-cic|Bhagat Singh v. CIC]] (HC-DEL 2007)
 +  * [[/cases/bombay-hc-pio-reasoned-order-2014|PIO reasoned orders — Bombay HC]] (HC-BOM 2014)
 +
 +===== Related =====
 +
 +  * [[https://righttoinformation.wiki/cases/search?court=HC-MAD|All High Court of Madras rulings in the corpus]]
 +  * [[https://righttoinformation.wiki/cases/search?section=20|All RTI cases turning on §20]]
 +  * [[:cases:search|Full case-law search]]
 +  * [[:cases|Case-Law Database — overview]]
 +  * [[:pio-rti-reply-guide|PIO RTI Reply Guide]]
 +  * [[:act|The RTI Act, 2005 — annotated]]
 +
 +<WRAP center round alert 95%>
 +**Editorial summary, not a certified report.** The ratio here is an editorial compression. Before citing this ruling in a PIO order, FAA speaking order, or any appellate filing, **verify against the full reported decision**. RTI Wiki is not a legal service.
 +</WRAP>
 +
 +
 +
 +//Editorial summary · last reviewed 21 April 2026.//
 +
 +{{tag>case-law court-hc-mad section-20}}