My Second Appeal is not admitted by CIC as the CPIO replied in Gujarati
19 Nov, 2021Madam / Dear sir,
1. My RTI Application language was English
2. CPIO Reply language was Gujarati
3. My FAA language was English
4. FAA decision language was English
5. My Second Appeal to CIC language was English.
At now my Second Appeal is not admitted by CIC and query raised by Deputy Register of CIC that CPIO Reply language was Gujarati. And CIC require the same document in English or Hindi.
Now CPIO not responding me for providing me RTI Reply document me in same language of my RTI APPLICATION.
What is the legal ground for such situation?
What can be done?
Kapil Kanabar
Dear Mr Kapil,
The difficulty faced by you is interesting. The legal points are as under:
1. CPIO is supposed to provide the information as it is available i.e. if the original documents are in Gujarati, only copies of the documents are to be provided and not the translation.
2. Regarding the forwarding letter of the CPIO, the RTI Act is silent but as per the Official Language Policy of the government, it ought to be in English when the letter was received in English. [https://rajbhasha.gov.in/en/official-languages-act-1963 and https://www.meity.gov.in/content/official-languages-use-official-purpose-union]
3. The CIC receives the RTI Application only in English and/ or Hindi as per section 6(1) of the RTI Act. [https://cic.gov.in/node/3414]
4. In view of the above, you may:
a) File a complaint at the CIC against the CPIO under section 18 for not filing a proper reply.
b) Do a translation of the Gujarati text at your level and file an appeal to the CIC under section 19.
EDITOR