Punjab State Information Commission: contact and filing guide

Last reviewed: 1 September 2026.

The helpline can confirm administrative procedure, but a phone call is not a second appeal or complaint. Prepare the correct statutory filing, preserve dispatch or receiving proof, and use the Commission's official status and cause-list pages.

The Punjab Government's department page independently links the Commission website and publishes the Sector 16 address and reception number. Use these official pages instead of old directories that still show a different sector, phone number, domain or email.

The RTI Act creates different routes:

1. A first appeal under section 19(1) normally challenges a PIO's response or failure before the public authority's First Appellate Authority.
2. A second appeal under section 19(3) asks the State Information Commission to decide the dispute after the first-appeal stage. The Act states 90 days from the date on which the first-appeal decision should have been made or was actually received, with power to admit a delayed appeal for sufficient cause.
3. A complaint under section 18 concerns the grounds listed there, such as inability to submit a request, refusal of access or other specified obstruction.

A complaint is not automatically a substitute for a second appeal when the practical goal is an order for disclosure. Identify the remedy from the facts and current case law. When in doubt, obtain advice before the limitation period expires.

The Commission's official checklist for complaints and second appeals currently asks for three sets of a second appeal. Prepare a page-marked, indexed bundle containing the items that apply:

1. index;
2. second-appeal memorandum with complete grounds and relief;
3. copy of the RTI application;
4. proof of the RTI fee and posting/submission;
5. every communication received from the public authority;
6. PIO reply, if received;
7. first appeal and proof of posting/submission;
8. FAA order, if received;
9. complete postal addresses with PIN codes and available contact details for appellant, PIO and FAA;
10. self-attested identity proof in the first set;
11. self-certification about the matter's previous filing/pending/decision status;
12. separately page-marked sets.

The checklist says a separate appeal should be filed for each RTI application. Do not combine several unrelated RTIs into one bundle simply because they concern the same department.

The same official checklist calls for two sets of a complaint. Read it before printing because form and registry requirements can change.

Use this order:

1. Parties and complete addresses
2. RTI application date and subject
3. PIO response or non-response
4. First appeal date
5. FAA order or non-response
6. Date-wise chronology
7. Specific grounds linked to the requested information
8. Precise relief sought
9. Delay-condonation request and reasons, if applicable
10. List of annexures, verification and signature

Separate a denial issue from a “not held” issue. Quote the exact query number and response. If the PIO relied on an exemption, explain why it does not apply, why severability is possible, or why the public-interest test is met where the Act provides one.

Do not add accusations unsupported by the file. A clean comparison between the RTI query, PIO reply and first appeal is easier to decide.

Ask only for relief the Commission can lawfully consider on the record, such as:

• directing access to identifiable information, subject to the Act;
• deciding the applicability of a cited exemption;
• providing information in the requested or practicable form;
• considering compensation where statutory conditions are supported;
• taking the action contemplated by the Act where the record justifies it;
• accepting a delayed appeal for the stated sufficient cause.

Do not ask the Commission to cancel a government contract, register an FIR, sanction a pension, punish a private person or decide the underlying service dispute. The Commission decides RTI rights and related statutory issues.

The official PSIC checklist reviewed for this update does not state a separate second-appeal fee. This guide therefore does not publish an unverified amount. Before filing, check the current Punjab RTI Rules and the Commission's latest filing instruction or confirm the administrative requirement on the official helpline.

Punjab's online RTI portal is an official route for RTI services shown there. Do not assume that an online RTI account or first-appeal feature also files a second appeal with the Commission. Use only a Commission page that expressly confirms the second-appeal channel, or file through the current physical/postal route in its instructions.

Before sealing the envelope:

1. page-number each set in the same order;
2. sign verification and self-attestation where required;
3. make sure the PIO and FAA have complete service addresses;
4. keep a full scan of the signed set;
5. use a trackable postal service or obtain an office receipt;
6. record the dispatch and delivery dates;
7. do not send original identity or evidence documents.

Write “Second Appeal under section 19(3), RTI Act” or “Complaint under section 18, RTI Act” accurately on the covering page and envelope.

Use the official status page with the case details available to you. Check the cause list as the hearing approaches. Save each notice and verify whether the hearing is physical, video-based or otherwise directed in that notice.

Prepare a short hearing note:

1. query numbers still disputed;
2. response received for each;
3. exemption or reason relied upon;
4. your answer to that reason;
5. exact relief still sought;
6. page numbers in the appeal bundle.

Inform the registry promptly through its official channel if your address changes. Never rely only on a third-party case-alert service.

First allow for delivery and diary processing; then contact the helpline with the delivery proof, appellant name, public authority and dispatch date. Ask whether the filing was diarised and whether a defect memo was issued.

If necessary, seek administrative records through RTI:

1. Provide the diary/inward entry for my second appeal delivered on [date].
2. Provide its registration number and present registry status.
3. Provide a copy of every defect or scrutiny note.
4. Provide the date and mode by which any defect notice was sent.
5. Provide the current registry instruction governing the missing item.

Do not use RTI to demand how a Commissioner should decide the merits of a pending case. Use it only for existing registry and administrative records. The RTI Playbook and the RTI Assistant can help phrase record requests.

The official page reviewed on 29 August 2026 lists 0172-2864100 from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Recheck the page before calling.

Red Cross Building, Near Rose Garden, Sector 16, Chandigarh 160015, according to the Commission and Punjab Government pages reviewed.

The current official checklist calls for three sets, page-marked and indexed. It calls for two sets of a complaint.

The Commission checklist says a separate appeal is to be filed for each RTI application.

Section 19(3) states 90 days from when the first-appeal decision should have been made or was actually received. The Commission can admit a late appeal for sufficient cause.

Do not assume so. Use only a current PSIC instruction that expressly accepts online second appeals; otherwise follow the Commission's current postal or physical filing procedure.

No. They have different statutory foundations and may support different relief. Choose the route based on the problem and objective.

No. It can assist with administrative information. A Commissioner decides the statutory case through the official proceeding.

• Punjab State Information Commission contact page
• PSIC second-appeal and complaint checklist
• PSIC case-status page
• PSIC current cause list
• Punjab Government department page linking PSIC
• Department of Personnel and Training: updated Right to Information Act, 2005

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Reviewed against official sources on 1 September 2026. Recheck the Commission page, registry checklist and Punjab rules immediately before filing.