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+{{htmlmetatags>metatag-keywords=(section 20 penalty rti, pio penalty rs 25000, rti penalty petition, rti second appeal penalty prayer)&metatag-description=(Section 20 penalty petition: Rs 250 a day up to Rs 25,000 against the PIO personally for delay or denial. Copy-ready format, checklist, filing route.)}}
+====== Section 20 penalty petition format (2026) ======
+{{:social:auto:form-section-20-penalty-petition.png?direct&1200 |Section 20 Penalty Petition Format 2026 — RTI Wiki}}
+<WRAP center round info 95%>
+**Quick Reply:** Section 20(1) lets the Information Commission fine the **PIO personally ₹250 per day, up to ₹25,000**, for refusing or delaying information **without reasonable cause** — plus departmental action under §20(2) for repeat offenders. The prayer rides along with your second appeal under §19(3). Filing is **free** at the CIC. Copy-ready format below.
+</WRAP>
+<WRAP info>
+**§20(1) penalty is near-mandatory once the Commission finds delay or refusal without reasonable cause.** The law puts the burden on the PIO to show cause — the applicant only has to show the dates. It is usually filed inside the second appeal, as a prayer.
+</WRAP>
+===== The six grounds the Commission can fine on =====
+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);
+  * **(c)** 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.
+===== What the petition needs =====
+  * 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)
+===== Copy-ready petition =====
+<code>
+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]
+. The appellant filed an RTI application no. [NUMBER] on [DATE]
+   addressed to the PIO, [Office], delivered on [DATE] (proof enclosed).
+. 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.
+. A first appeal was filed on [DATE] [Registration/office no.]. The FAA
+   [Choose:] passed no order / upheld the refusal (copy enclosed).
+. 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.
+. 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]
+</code>
+===== Where and how to file =====
+  * **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.
+===== Hearing tips =====
+  * 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.)
+===== Common mistakes =====
+  * 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.
+===== FAQs =====
+==== Does the PIO pay from their own pocket? ====
+Yes — §20(1) penalty is recovered from the PIO's salary personally, not from the office budget. That is precisely why it moves files.
+==== What if the PIO retired meanwhile? ====
+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.
+==== Can I ask for penalty AND compensation? ====
+Yes, as separate prayers: §20(1) penalty (punitive) and §19(8)(b) compensation for detriment suffered (prove the loss — expense, lost benefit).
+==== The FAA already ordered supply and the PIO ignored that too ====
+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.
+===== If the Commission itself sits on the matter =====
+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.
+===== Related =====
+  * [[:forms:second-appeal-form-cic|Second appeal form — CIC]]
+  * [[:forms:start|All 20 RTI forms + downloads]]
+  * [[:fees:start|RTI fees by state]]
+  * [[:helplines:start|Helplines + grievance routes]]
+  * [[:citizen-rti-playbook|Full RTI Playbook]]
+  * [[/book|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.//
+{{tag>form section-20-penalty-petition download rti-process penalty}}