KIC claims to be fastest in country in disposing of second appeal petitions

The Karnataka Information Commission (KIC) has claimed to be the fastest in the country in disposing of second appeal petitions and has cleared 36,474 appeals in the last one year along with recommendations for fines and disciplinary action against officers who did not provide information.

“The State government had appointed eight Information Commissioners to KIC on February 4, 2025. From 2023 to February 2025, only three Commissioners were working. Due to this, the disposal of petitions was slow. However, the disposal of second appeal petitions has gained momentum in the past one year,” the KIC said in a statement on Thursday.

“In February 2025, a total of 69,471 petitions were pending for hearing, including the newly filed petitions. The Commission has disposed of 36,474 petitions in the past one year and only 32,997 second appeal petitions are pending disposal,” the statement said.

“The speedy disposal of petitions is due to the training workshop on the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, conducted by the Commission for Public Information Officers (PIOs) and First Appellate Authorities at the district level. Such workshops have been held in 23 districts so far. This has increased the number of PIOs providing information and attending the hearings of the Commission,” KIC added.

Further the KIC said it had declared the Karnataka Milk Federation and the Electronic City Industrial Township Authority (ELCITA), which had not provided information under RTI Act, 2005 earlier, as public authorities.

Public Information Officers who do not provide information within the stipulated period and who do not appear before the Commission for hearing were being fined. The maximum fine is ₹25,000. The law also provides for compensation to the applicant along with the fine. The Commission has imposed a fine of ₹45.29 lakh on 245 officers in a period of one year. “Failure to pay the fine will make it difficult to get retirement benefits,” it warned.

Recommendations

The Commission has recommended that RTI should be included as a subject in all recruitment and examinations related to the promotion of officers, school and college textbooks. It also suggested that the disposal of RTI applications be discussed as a subject in district and taluk level Karnataka Development Programme meetings.

National conference

The Commission intends to hold a national conference to work towards a more effective implementation of the Right to Information Act, 2005. The Commission will consult the Chief Minister and take a decision in this regard, the Commission added.