If your application requests the following kinds of information, the public authority can lawfully refuse to give you:
- Information that affects the security and economic interests of the government with another country
- Information that is banned from being published by any court or tribunal
- Information that would result in a breach of privilege of the Legislature
- Information that would harm commercial interests
- Information that arises because of a relationship based on trust
- Information from a foreign government which was given as a secret
- Information that exposes whistleblowers or endangers lives
- Information that would cause difficulty to police investigation or arrests in criminal cases
- Records of the Cabinet Ministers (reasons and materials can be made public after the decision is made)
- Personal information (however, such information has to be revealed to the Parliament or State Legislature if asked for)
If the release of the information causes copyright infringement, the PIO can refuse the request for information. Furthermore, the exemption does not apply if the information requested is more than 20 years old. In such a case, it must be given to the applicant. However, information relating to security and economic interests with another country, breach of parliamentary privilege and Cabinet proceedings can be denied even if it is more than 20 years old.
This special law guarantees certain rights to the victims, their dependents and those acting as witness to the complaints filed under this law. These rights are:
Protection from violence
- Victims, their dependents and witnesses must be protected from any kind of intimidation, coercion, inducement, violence or even threats of violence.
- The investigation officer or the Station House Officer must record the complaint of a victim, informant or witnesses by way of an FIR if they are being intimidated, coerced, induced, harassed or even threatened with violence. A copy of the FIR must be given to them free of cost.
Right to be treated with Dignity
- Victims should be treated with fairness, respect and dignity. If there are any special needs of victims owing to their age, gender or educational disadvantage, the same must be given due regard.
Rights in Court
- The Special Public Prosecutor or the government officials must inform the victims or their dependents of any court proceedings about to take place under this law. They have a right to reasonable, accurate and timely notice of any court proceedings, even when the accused person applies for bail.
- The victims or their dependents have the right to request production of documents, materials or witnesses from other parties by making a request to the Special Court.
- Victims and their dependents have a right to be heard in proceedings related to the bail, discharge, release, parole, conviction or sentence of the accused person. They also have a right to make written submissions on conviction, acquittal or sentencing of the accused person.
- All court proceedings under this law must be video recorded.
Special Protection
- The Special Court must provide the victim, their dependent, witnesses or informants:
- Complete protection to ensure delivery of justice
- Travelling and maintenance expenses during investigation, inquiry and trial
- Socio-economic rehabilitation during investigation, inquiry and trial
- Relocation
- Either the Special Public Prosecutor or the victims, their dependents, witnesses and informants can make an application to the Special Court to:
- Conceal their names and addresses of the witnesses in the orders, judgements or any records of the case that are publicly available.
- Issue directions to not disclose the identity and address of the witnesses.
- Take immediate action on a complaint relating to the harassment of a victim, informant or witness and if necessary pass orders for protection on the same day.
- Obtain form for filing writ petition
A person seeking to protect their fundamental right can file a petition before the appropriate court i.e., Supreme Court or a High Court. The petition should be filed in the prescribed form as given by the particular court. The prescribed format for a writ petition in the Supreme Court can be found here. For High Courts, there are different forms prescribed by each High Court which can be accessed by visiting the concerned High Court’s website.
After obtaining the prescribed form for the appropriate court, the following information should be mentioned in the petition:
- Name and description of the person filing the petition.
- Name and description of the person/body against whom the petition is being filed.
- The violated fundamental right of the aggrieved person.
- The remedy sought by the aggrieved person.
- The reasons for seeking the remedy.
- (If the petition is being filed to the Supreme Court) Whether a petition for the matter has already been filed before any High Court and if yes, the order passed by the High Court.
- If the petition is against a lower court’s order, the original or certified copy of such order should be attached to the petition.
- The affidavit of the facts led to the filing of the petition.
- Any other necessary documents.
If any document is not in the physical possession of the petitioner, then a list of such documents should be attached to the petition.
After completely drafting the petition, it should be submitted at the filing counter of either the Supreme Court(( Supreme Court of India, Handbook on Practice and Procedure and Office Procedure, accessed at https://main.sci.gov.in/pdf/LU/ppop2017.pdf)) or concerned High Court(( Delhi High Court (Original Side) Rules, 2018, accessed at http://delhihighcourt.nic.in/writereaddata/upload/CourtRules/DownloadFile_ACT21XZ4IP9.PDF)), according to the petitioner’s preference.
Anyone who is arrested and in the custody of the police should be produced before the nearest Magistrate within a period of twenty-four hours of their arrest. The police are required to produce every arrested person before the Magistrate to ensure that there have been legal grounds for the arrest of the person. Copies of all the documents including the memo of arrest should be sent to the concerned Magistrate for their record. In the instance of the accused person not being produced before the Magistrate, a Habeas Corpus petition can be filed.
If you have a complaint about the way in which the PIO handled your RTI application, you can approach the higher authorities established under this Act – the Central Information Commission or the State Information Commission. They have a duty under this Act to inquire into your complaint. You can make a complaint in the following situations:
- When the public authority has not appointed a PIO in the first place;
- When a PIO has refused to give information;
- When a PIO has not given you information within the allowed time;
- When the PIO has asked for too many fees for giving you the information; and
- When the PIO has given you incomplete or wrong information.
If the Commission is convinced that there are reasonable grounds in the complaint, it has to initiate an inquiry into the matter. For the purpose of conducting an inquiry, it has the same powers as a civil court. This means that it can ask for people to come and be witnesses or submit relevant documents as evidence, inspect these documents, and ask for any public records.
Norms and Standards to be followed by schools
The right to education law prescribes that the Pupil-Teacher Ratio should be maintained at 30:1 for first class to fifth class and 35:1 for sixth class to eighth class. It also provides that there should be(( Schedule I, Item 2, The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009.)):
- At least one classroom for every teacher
- Separate toilets for boys and girls
- Barrier-free access
- A playground
- Safe and adequate drinking water facility for the children
- A kitchen where mid-day meals can be cooked in the school A library in each school provides newspapers, magazines and books on all subjects, including story-books.
- A teacher also needs to have a minimum of 45 working hours per week including preparation hours.
Creation of a School Management Committee
All schools run by the government or substantially aided by it are mandated to form a School Management Committee (SMC). The SMC comprises the elected representatives of the local authority and the parents, with ¾ of the committee composed of parents of the children, admitted in school. The SMC is devised to monitor the working of the school, prepare development plans for the school, monitor utilisation of grants for the school etc. However, the SMC for minority schools and aided schools shall perform advisory functions only. The SMC is vested with the responsibility of devising a School Development Plan, which will be the basis for plans and grants made by the respective State Government or local authorities.
Provide meals to the children
The law provides that all students between the ages of six to fourteen years who enrol and attend the school studying between I to VIII classes shall be entitled to nutritious meals at no cost. ((Rule 7, Mid Day Meal Rules, 2015.))The funds for such meals shall be provided by the state government. However, implementation of the scheme and monitoring of the quality and preparation of the meal is overseen by the School Management Committee.(( Rule 3, Mid Day Meal Rules, 2015.))These meals should be provided on all days except school holidays and should be served at school.(( Rule 4, Mid Day Meal Rules, 2015))
The law requires measures to be taken by the District administration to provide relief and ensure rehabilitation of members of SCs or STs who have been victims of atrocities and crimes mentioned under this special law.(( Rule 12, Schedule Caste Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Rules, 1995.)) An assessment of the situation or damages will be done by the District Magistrate and the Superintendent of Police before the relief can be provided.
These immediate relief measures include making arrangements in cash and/or kind to victims, their family members and dependents. It should also include relief in the form of food, water, clothing, shelter, medical aid, transport facilities and any other essential items necessary for human beings. The law also provides for norms in terms of the relief amount for state governments to follow. These norms can be found in the Schedule attached to these Rules.
In cases of death, injury to persons or damage to property, either the victims or their dependents will have an additional right to claim compensation.
Such relief can be provided by either the District Magistrate, Sub-divisional Magistrate or Executive Magistrate.
The police officers handling the interrogation should bear accurate, visible and clear identification and name tags with their designations. The details of the police personnel who handle your interrogation must be recorded in a register. The arrested person will be permitted to meet their lawyer during interrogation.
Certain organisations like the security and intelligence agencies are excluded from giving information under the purview of this law. A list of these excluded organisations is provided in the Second Schedule to the RTI Act. However, information relating to corruption or human rights violations in such organisations can be asked for and provided after the Central Information Commission agrees to it. This has to be provided in 45 days.
If you face any grievance or you have a complaint regarding the education of a child, you can approach the following authorities:
Students/Parents/Any person
Any person, including parents, can file a complaint with:
Local Authorities
Complaints can be made to Gram Panchayat or the Block Education Officer. The Block Education officer is in charge of the education of students within their block and also supervises the functioning of the schools.
National/State Commission for Protection of Child Rights
The National and State Commission for Protection of Child Rights works for the protection of all children in the 0 to 18 years age group. Their work includes addressing children in backward or vulnerable communities. If you have any grievances, you can complain not only to the National Commission but also to the commissions set up in each state. Any person aggrieved by the decision of the local authority can file an appeal(( Section 32(3), The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009.)) to the State Commission for Protection for Child Rights in case of grievances. The helpline numbers and email ids differ from state to state but can be found on their website.
Some immediate ways you can complain to the National Commission are:
Online
The government has an online complaint system where you can file your complaint.
Via Phone:
You can contact the following numbers:
- National Commission for Protection of Child Rights- 9868235077
- Childline India (Childline is a helpline for offences committed against children)- 1098
Via Email:
You can send an email to the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights: pocsoebox-ncpcr@gov.in
Via Post/Letter/Messenger:
You can write to the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights with your complaint or send a messenger to this address:
NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR PROTECTION OF CHILD RIGHTS (NCPCR)
5th Floor, Chandralok Building 36, Janpath,
New Delhi-110001 India.
Courts
Complaints can also be taken to court since the Right to Education is a fundamental right for children. You should take the help of a lawyer for this.
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