INFORMATION. IN THE FORM OF DATA OR ANALYZED DATA, AND PERTINENT TO PART OF THE RECORDS OF PUBLIC AUTHORITY COULD NOT DENIED TO APPLICANT

The Right to Information Act, 2005 provides access to information that is available and existing. This is clear from a combined reading of Section 3 and the definitions of information and the right to information under clause (f) and (j) of section 2 of the Act, where in, if a public authority has any information in the form of data or analysed data, or abstracts, or statistics, an applicant may access such information, subject to the exemptions in Section 8 of the Act. But where the information sought is not a part of the record of a public authority, and where such information is not required to be maintained under any law or the rules or regulations of the public authority, the Act does not cast an obligation upon the public authority, to collect or collate such non - available information and then furnish it to an Applicant. A public authority is also not required to furnish information which require drawing of inference and/or making of assumptions. It is also not required to provide advice or opinion to an Applicant, nor required to obtain and furnish any opinion or advice to an Applicant. The reference to opinion or advice in the definition of information in section 2(f) of the Act, only refers to such material available in the records of the public authority. Many public authorities have, as a public relation exercise, provide advice, guidance and opinion to the citizens, but that is purely voluntary and should not be confused with any obligation under the RTI Act. It is particularly mentioned here that the public authorities and the First Appellate Authorities are also responsible to follow efficiency in the administration and do needful in the correspondence made before the departments related to time to time issued reports and returns, list by way and virtue of which information in the form of data or an analyzed data or abstracts or statistic could not denied to applicant within the timeline prefixed by the code for considerations however applicant must follow procedural compliance of the available records through his demand before the public authority responsible for the reply of such information within the law of limitations:-- Er Fateh chand Guleria, Director RTI welfare Association registered number HPCD, 3552 , Bilaspur Himachal pradesh phone number, 9459334377