Citizens to file complaints, appeals online in CIC

NEW DELHI:  RTI applicants will soon be able to file complaints and appeals with Central Information Commission (CIC) online.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh will inaugurate the two-day annual convention of the CIC on Monday, during which he will launch the ‘e-Court' system — aimed at enabling speedy disposal of appeals and complaints by using digital technology.

“The system will allow online filing of appeals and complaints and case disposals using latest technology. The system will generate a unique number which can be used by the applicant for tracking the status of a case filed with the Commission.

“As soon as a case is filed online or offline, the system will generate SMS and email alert to the applicant. Alerts will also be generated to inform the applicant at the stage of registration, issue of facilitation memo, scheduling of the case hearing and also at the stage of decision uploading,” a press release issued today by Personnel Ministry said.

The system will offer an online search facility which allow users to search for dak, file, hearing notice and decision etc., it said.

The RTI Act, 2005, which was enacted by the then UPA government, enables a citizen to seek governance-related information in a time-bound manner from central government departments by filing an application.

The CIC was constituted in 2005 for dealing with second appeals and complaints filed under the RTI Act, 2005. The Commission has till now heard and disposed off about two lakh cases.

For convenience of the information seekers, the Commission encourages hearings through video conference. Since April 1, 2015, the Commission has heard almost 19,000 cases through video conferencing.

In all 25,960 cases were registered with CIC in 2015-16 and during the same period 28,188 cases were disposed off.

During April-October, 2016 about 12,780 cases were registered and 15,993 cases have been disposed off by the Commission, the release said.

The Home Minister will also release a book on RTI success stories which has been prepared by Yashwantrao Chavan Academy of Development Administration, Pune.

The convention is expected to be attended, among other high dignitaries, by all present and former Central Information Commissioners and State Information Commissioners as well as representatives of public authorities and other stakeholders.

The inauguration function will be followed by various sessions on topics such as RTI in railways, RTI web portal by Department of Personnel and Training, RTI in Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs), RTI in banking and insurance, academic papers on RTI and RTI in states. The sessions will be attended by eminent panelists and experts in these areas.

The implementation of RTI in RBI, SBI, PFRDA, IRDAI and LIC will also be discussed in a separate session. Academic papers on topics like success and failure of the Right to Information Act, harnessing IT for RTI in an Institute of Higher Learning, RTI as an instrument of change, Right to Petition to Right to Information etc. Will also be discussed in a separate session. (agencies)