Last Change:
12/26/2024
The Right to Information Act
Year: 2009
Type: Domestic law
Rights Category: Liberty & security of person
Description
The Act makes provisions for ensuring the free flow of information and people’s right to information. The freedom of thought, conscience, and speech is recognized in the Constitution as a fundamental right and the right to information is an inalienable part of it. Since all powers of the Republic belong to the people, it is necessary to ensure the right to information for their empowerment.
Selected provisions
(1) With reference to the disposal of any complaint or otherwise, if the Information Commission has reasons to believe that an officer in-charge⎯
(a) has refused to receive any request for information or an appeal without assigning any reasons;
(b) has failed to provide information to the applicant or to make decision within the time-limit determined by the Act;
(c) has refused to receive a request or an appeal with mala fide intention;
(d) has provided wrong, incomplete, confusing and distorted information in place of the information that was sought for;
(e) has created impediments in receiving information;
then, the Information Commission may impose fine for per day 50 (fifty) taka from the date of doing such action by the officer-in-charge to the date of providing information, and such fine shall not, in any way, exceed more than 5000 (five thousand) taka.
(2) The Information Commission shall, before imposing any fine under subsection (1), give the officer-in-charge an opportunity of hearing.
(3) If the Information Commission is satisfied that the officer-in-charge has created impediments in getting information of any citizen by any act under subsection (1), than, it may, in addition to imposing fine under sub-section (2), recommend the concerned authority to take departmental action against the officer, treating his such act to be a misconduct, and may request the authority to inform the Information Commission about the action taken last in respect of this matter.
(4) If any fine or compensation payable under this Act is not paid, it may be recoverable from the concerned officer through such procedures as are applicable for the recovery of a land revenue in accordance with the provisions of Public Demands Recovery Act, 1913 (Act IX of 1913).
No person shall, except preferring an appeal before an appellate authority or, as the case may be, lodging a complaint before the Information Commission under this Act, raise any question before any court for anything done or deemed to be done, any action taken or the legality of any order passed or any instruction made under this Act.