Frequently Asked Questions

Answer: Except the exempted information under RTI Act, all other information can be obtained under RTI Act.
A request for information to a State Institute must include the following:
  1. State that the request for information is made under this Act;
  2. Provide such details concerning that information
  3. Specify an address where documents to be given to the applicant under this Act shall be sent to
  4. Give assurance of payment promulgated by that State Institute to access or be disclosed of such information.
  5. Specify the name, address and contact number of the applicant.
Action on the request must be processed within 21 (twenty-one) days and can extend the time to an additional 14 (fourteen) days making a total of 35 days including public holidays.
Yes. Where the person requesting for information, is disabled, convenience is provided under this Act and such persons may orally submit the request to the information officer of that state institute and the Information Officer, must write down the request, sign it, and have a third person witness the process, and sign the request, have the person orally submitting the request fingerprint the request, and provide a copy of the written request to that person. This can be considered as a request to information.
Under this Act, there should be an information officer in each of the state institute.
  • Shall bear the highest responsibility of disclosing information requested under this Act
  • Assisting individuals seeking to obtain information
  • Make decisions regarding requests made under this Act, replying to the applications, refusal to disclose the information requested, deferment in disclosing a record and implement ways in which information may be disclosed
Where a request for access to information is received to a State Institute, the Information Officer shall reply to the applicant in writing, informing:
  1. That the application is accepted, notice thereof, the amount payable for the disclosure of the requested record must be informed;
  2. That the application is not accepted and the reason(s) for not accepting it;
  3. Whether the information requested is available or not from the State Institute to which the request was made;
  4. That the information requested is in the State Institute but cannot be disclosed and the reason(s) for non-disclosure;
  5. That the information cannot be given within 21 (twenty-one) days and the reason(s) for the delay;
  6. That the applicant has the right to appeal under this Act.
Where a request to information is made to a state institute, the Information Officer cannot orally respond to it. All the responses to the applications submitted under this Act should be carried out in writing as it would be easier to the related state institutes and to the applicant when moving from one stage to another and also for the reason that this Act requires the state institutes to use a written format.
If the requested information cannot be disclosed when the application is made due to the following reasons, the information can be withheld having decided a time for disclosure and up until such time:
  1. Where the information ought to be disclosed under this or another Act and the time for such disclosure has not arrived at the time the request is made or;
  2. Where the document is prepared for presentation to the People’s Majlis and the time for such presentation has not arrived at the time request is made or;
  3. If the document is prepared to be presented to a certain authority as may be required by law or an ongoing event or a preplanned event and the time for such presentation has not arrived at the time request is made.
On receiving a request to access information, the Information Officer of the related State Institute may refuse to disclose the information if:
  1. The request relates to information exempted by this Act, and does not meet any of the circumstances specified in section 20 of this Act, or
  2. The information is otherwise available to the public from that institute or elsewhere, free of charge or for a fee.
  3. The information is otherwise accessible to the public without any payment and is disclosed to the public as a normal practice or policy of that State Institute.
  4. The information is available as a matter of course to the public for a payment.
The general rule is the information related to a third party cannot be disclosed. But where the disclosure of the third person’s personal information is in the interest of maintaining public interest, for that reason, that information may be provided without the consent of the third party, but with the authority of the review Committee set up in the State Institute under this Act.
  1. Refusal to accept a request for access to information without justifiable reason;
  2. Refusal to provide access to information, without justifiable reason, within the time limits prescribed in this Act;
  3. Refusal to provide information with bad intention;
  4. Providing incorrect, incomplete or misleading information.
In these situations Information Commissioner can impose a fine not exceeding MVR 5000/-
The Committee must consist of those at a higher rank than the Information Officer(s). Generally the decision should be made within 30 day(s).
Where there is a dissatisfaction with the decision made by the Information Officer(s), a submission may be made to the Review Committee of the State Institute requesting a review of the decision, within 30 days from the date the decision was made or should have been made. The Review Committee may accept a complaint to be reviewed, even after the lapse of the period where the Committee believes there is a reasonable justification for the delay. The, complaints submitted to the Review Committee must be reviewed within 30 days and where the review is not completed within this period, due to a special circumstance, it must be completed within an additional 15 days and shall notify its decision to all concerned parties in writing.
The party may appeal the matter to the Information Commissioner, within 90 days from the date the decision was made or should have been made.

Where a request for information of a third party is received by a State Institute, and where the Information Officer of the State Institute intends to disclose it, the third party must be notified within 5 days upon receiving the request, that such information is intended to be disclosed.

Where the third party receives a notification of disclosure and if there is any objection, the Information Officer must be informed orally or by writing within 7 days following the date of notification.

Where the Information Officer decides to disclose the information despite the objections from the third party, the third party must be notified in writing that the information has been disclosed and the reasons for its disclosure. The Information officer must also state that where the third party is unsatisfied with the decision, he has the right of appeal as according to this Act and the notification must also specify the contact details of the appeal authority.

A request for information from a State Institute may be declined for failure to provide the necessary information in the application, as specified in this Act.
Such information shall be accessed through the assigned State Institute where function of a State Institute are assigned to another State Institute, or where the functions of a State Institute are assigned to two or more other State Institute, responsibility shall be borne by whichever of those offices which has the relevant information in question or where the functions of that State Institute have not been assigned to any other State Institute, the authority in whose custody the information is.
A State Institute in receipt of a request may transfer the request to another office within 7 days of receiving the request and must notify the applicant regarding the transfer, specifying the date and reason for which the request was transferred to the other institute.
Yes. Although the request to amend the personal information could be rejected under the following circumstances:
  1. The State Institute is confident that the information is complete, correct and not substantially misleading,
  2. The State Institute is confident that the application to amend the records contains incorrect or misleading information,
  3. The procedure for amendment of the information to which the application for amendment relates is specifically provided in a statute, and the given procedure was not followed.
If the correspondence is related to that particular person, the letter can be given by excluding what is not related to that person.
It considers a very huge responsibility in giving precedence to public interests and it specifies the information that does not fall under the category of public interest. They are:
  • The information contains such details if disclosed to the public may make it difficult for the concerned State Institute to be answerable;
  • The information contains such details that may undermine public confidence in the concerned State Institute;
  • The information contains such deletions, which may adversely impact the comprehension of the remaining details.
An appeal can be made directly to the Information Commissioner, in the following circumstances:
  • Where the applicant is unable to access information from a specific State Institute, because no Information Officer has been appointed to that State Institute
  • Where a State Institute refuses to receive an application of request for information without reasonable justification;
  • Where the Information Officer refuses or neglects to provide a receipt notifying that the request has been duly applied under this Act
  • Where the Information Officer fails to comply with a request for access to information within the time limits required under this Act
  • Where the Information Officer or the State Institute refuse to comply with the directive issued by the Information Commissioner
  • Where the Information Officer or the State Institute breach the procedure in this Act regarding access to information.
  • To summon the concerned persons
  • To obtain statements from those summoned
  • To collect testimony from those willing
  • To request for information
  • To request for documents
  • To order to provide documents
  • To order to provide information
  • To order to provide a specific document or specific information to the Information Commissioner
  • To investigate and review a specific piece of information
  • To obtain evidence
  • To obtain evidence in writing
  • To obtain testimonies in writing
  • To order a specific State Institute to provide information held in its office
  • To summon a specific person, who having being identified as a witness
  • Having specified a given document, to order to submit that document
  • To enter a State Institute
  • To examine and search a given State Institute for the purpose of obtaining a relevant piece of information, and where that information is found, to withhold the document or the source in which the said information is found
  • To enforce other powers vested within the Information Commissioner under the Regulations formulated under this Act.
    • They are:
    • Where the appeal has no substantial basis
    • Where the appeal relates to a matter too trivial to be examined
    • Where the procedure prescribed in section 41 of this Act has not been fully followed in lodging the case with the Information Officer and not submitting to the review committee in circumstances of receiving unsatisfactory answer
    They are:
    • The number of applications received, the number of applications answered, the number of applications for which access was provided for the requested information and the number of applications for which access to the requested information was not granted;
    • The number of appeals made following refusal to access to information;
    • The amount of fees and their total;
    • Activities and tasks carried out proactively in order to comply with the duty of information disclosure;
    • Activities and tasks carried out for information management;
    • Activities and tasks carried out for the purpose of training the employees.