Raja Bhartei v. State of Chhattisgarh
Case brief
What is this about?
RTI Act 2005 penalty on PIO quashed; blank/unfilled Indian Postal Order not a valid application fee (Section 6(1); Rule 3, RTI Rules 2012); return of defective RTI application is not refusal under Section 7; PIO cannot fill payee's name on a blank postal order (forgery/interpolation); Chhattisgarh State Information Commission, Second Appeal No. A/2441/2020/Raigarh, order dated 29.11.2023; Section 20(1) penalty Rs. 25,000/-; Section 19(3) 90-day limitation and condonation argued; Gram Panchayat Secretaries as PIOs; TDS information sought by RTI activist Sharad Dewangan; Article 226 writ petitions allowed; no costs; single judge Arvind Kumar Verma, High Court of Chhattisgarh at Bilaspur, 27/10/2025.
What did the court decide?
Writ petitions allowed; impugned order dated 29.11.2023 of the Chhattisgarh State Information Commission in Second Appeal No. A/2441/2020/Raigarh imposing penalty on the PIOs quashed and set aside; respondent No.4 at liberty to file a fresh application with a duly filled postal order; no order as to costs.