How to ask for information through RTI from abroad?

[shandilya 0]

Hello,

 

I am doing some research work in Hamburg, Germany. I need data on judicial system in India like the number of courts (including district courts), number of cases filed, disposed and pending in courts of India state wise. Also, if possible the number of computers in each court.

 

Such information is not available on the internet. So I thought I might ask for them using RTI. Kindly tell me who should I ask for this information. Do I need to write to the Union Law ministry or to every state government?

 

Also, is it possible to get this information in Hamburg? There is an Indian consulate here.

 

This is the first time I am using RTI, so do not know how to proceed with it. Thank You.

[shivsharma 5]

Please submit the RTI application alongwith fee in local currency (by postal order):

First Secretary and HOC

Embassy of India

Tiergartenstr. 17

10785 Berlin

http://www.indianembassy.de/template.php?mnid=201&inclpage=piofficer.htm

[shandilya 0]

Thank you sir. Can I personally hand over the application and the fee to the Public Information Officer at the Consulate of India at Hamburg?

http://www.cgihamburg.de/eng_cgiham_RightToInformation_publicInfOfficer.php

 

Also, who should I address the query to? Since the information needed is about the courts in India, I guess the Union Ministry of Law and Justice will answer it. But I am not sure if they will answer the questions about district courts and lower judiciary.

Will I need to file separate applications for seeking information from different authorities? Or will the consulate manage that?

[shivsharma 5]

You may try by visiting personally. Better speak to them on phone. You are seeking huge information. Better split it in to several smaller RTI applications. Like, in one RTI application just seek the details no. of courts. The major issue is about pendancy of cases, which I believe has to be collected from each court. However, first try to get as much information from Union Law Ministry by asking them through RTI that what kind of information do they hold about the courts.

[karira 5,896]

The Indian Consulate in Hamburg will not transfer your application to any PA in India.

 

First of all are you a Indian Citizen ?

If yes, only then you can file a RTI application.

 

You can send the applications to someone in India, who attaches the relevant application fee and submits it.

Give a Indian address for reply.

 

Alternatively anyone can file the applications in his own name. Get the information and send it to you.

 

You need to file several separate RTI applications to:

 

1. Supreme Court

2. Each High Court separately

3. Ministry of Law (for SC and HCs)

4. Legal or Law department of each State (for lower courts)

 

Each of the applications has to be addressed to the respective SPIO or CPIO.

 

Your RTI Application has to be as per the RTI Rules and Fees for the Centre, respective State or the respective Court.

These are available in the Guide section of the Portal: RTI Guide

 

Please read the other articles in the Guide section as well as the links given in the FAQ here: RTI FAQ

 

Please also read the links given on the home page: http://www.rtiindia.org/forum/content/

 

These will be of help to you during the RTI process.

[shivsharma 5]

The Indian Consulate in Hamburg will not transfer your application to any PA in India.

Kariraji, They will certainly transfer the application to India provided the applicant is Indian citizen.

Indian PA will send reply directly to the applicant who is abroad.

[karira 5,896]

Kariraji, They will certainly transfer the application to India provided the applicant is Indian citizen.

Indian PA will send reply directly to the applicant who is abroad.

 

That is the way it should work but it is not working because under Sec 6(1), the applicant is supposed to make the RTI Application to the PIO of "concerned public authority".

 

Indian consulate is not the "concerned public authority" in this case.

[shandilya 0]

Hello Everyone,

 

I am a student and in the course of my research work on law, the huge number of pending cases in Indian courts came to my notice. I tried looking for accurate figures everywhere on the internet but in vain. All the courts upload judgements, causelist, case status but nowhere was the number of pending cases in any court mentioned.

 

Since I am currently abroad (in Hamburg, Germany) I wrote to the local Indian Consulate requesting information on number of pending cases in each Indian high court for the past few years. However I got the reply that my request for information is not covered under the RTI Act. RTI is for seeking information on important decisions made by the Indian Government.

 

I would like to know your opinion if this information should be available through RTI or not.

 

Also what can I do to obtain it? I can ask my friends in India to make an RTI application on my behalf.

 

Kindly help me with this matter. It is my first experience of RTI and outright rejection has disappointed me.

 

Thank you.

[shandilya 0]

Hello Everyone,

 

I am a student and in the course of my research work on law, the huge number of pending cases in Indian courts came to my notice. I tried looking for accurate figures everywhere on the internet but in vain. All the courts upload judgements, causelist, case status but nowhere was the number of pending cases in any court mentioned.

 

Since I am currently abroad (in Hamburg, Germany) I wrote to the local Indian Consulate requesting information on number of pending cases in each Indian high court for the past few years. However I got the reply that my request for information is not covered under the RTI Act. RTI is for seeking information on important decisions made by the Indian Government.

 

I would like to know your opinion if this information should be available through RTI or not.

 

Also what can I do to obtain it? I can ask my friends in India to make an RTI application on my behalf.

 

Kindly help me with this matter. It is my first experience of RTI and outright rejection has disappointed me.

 

Thank you.

[sharadphadke 176]

Was your application made by payment of Rs. 10/- as application fees (or equivalent) to the consulate? If not make a fresh application with the due payment of RTI fee to consulate of above them. The CPIO's Addresses are on Central Information Commissioner's web at: http://cic.gov.in/

on left side of the page under embassy PIO and AA's list. If you have paid the fees then file a first appeal.

[shandilya 0]

Thank you for your reply. Also, in your opinion, is maintaining and providing such information (about number of pending cases in courts) covered under RTI?

[rajyadav017 44]

I think you must ask this info from the ministry of Law. They will be having the info or Sc, HC, etc.

 

thank u

[jps50 1,580]

Please ask your friend in India to file RTI application with CPIO of Ministry of Law and Justice, Govt of India by referring:

 

Make effective:

http://www.rtiindia.org/forum/blogs/jps50/93-how-make-rti-application-effective.html

 

Central Govt application:

http://www.rtiindia.org/forum/blogs/jps50/19-rti-application-central-govt-info.html

 

For your research, please also study:

 

National Litigation Policy effective from 01-07-2010 at lawmin.nic.in/la/nlp.doc

 

National Mission for Justice Delivery at http://lawmin.nic.in/doj/justice/National_Legal_Mission-7NOV2009.pdf

[m_deka 37]

I think no case is pending in any HC, all are under trial/ consideration if all under trial case is being considered as pending then this may consider as uncountable pending case is pending in HC.

[shandilya 0]

I am extremely grateful for your suggestions. I believe it should be sufficient if I have the application submitted to a designated CAPIO post office. I would prefer to have it on CD, should the payment of Rs 50 for CD be made along with the application fee (Rs 10).

 

I cannot find who the account officer is in the Ministry of Law in whose name DD should be made. Kindly help me with it.

 

@jps50 : Those documents again do not quote any figure on number of cases. I wonder why they never divulge this information.

 

@M_deka: Yes, I want to know the number of cases filed and number of cases disposed in each High court bench for past 10 years. This way I will be able to analyze how cases are getting accumulated over the years.

 

Can you please suggest how to frame the question effectively ?

[jetley 179]

No. of filed/admitted cases, in which 1st hearing is pending.

 

Will this answer your basic query? If so, you may modify it to suit your purpose exactly

[shandilya 0]

No I want to know the number of cases year wise that were admitted and disposed. Following is the question I intend to ask:

 

i) Kindly provide me year wise figures (from 2001-2010) on the number of cases filed and disposed in each bench of all the 21 High Courts in India.

ii) Kindly provide me the number of staff of each of these courts year wise (2001-2010)

iii) Kindly provide me the number of computers in each of these courts year wise (2001-2010)

iv) Kindly provide me the number of district courts in each state and union territory of India year wise (2001-2010)

 

 

Is it fine or should it be reframed in a better way?

[jetley 179]

It seems fine. Though under the RTI act, it is not necessary to give any reason for seeking information, in your case it will be better if you mention that this is required fro your research work, so that any apprehension in the mind of the information officer, that the information is being sought may be used to lodge some complaint against his organization, is removed and he treats your request for information more favourably

[karira 5,896]

Three different threads started by the same poster on the same subject/topic now merged

 

shandilya,

 

DO NOT start multiple threads on the same subject/topic - continue in the same thread only.

[dr.s.malhotra 1,471]

You have to be a resident Indian Citizen to get information under RTI Act . This is the message conveyed in a recent significant decision dated 07.06.2011 by division bench of Hon'ble CIC Punjab Sh. RI Singh and Hon'ble SIC Sh. PPS Gill in matter of Smt. Parkash Kaur Dhillon vs Senior Superintendent of Police, Bathinda in CC Nos. 704 & 435 of 2011

RTI for Indian citizens only.doc

[shandilya 0]

No, I had not paid the fees. I spoke to the Vice Consul (designated PIO) and he said that my query was not covered under RTI act and discouraged me to apply. The following is the text of email he sent me :

"Please refer to your email of 6th June 2011 regarding statistical data on Indian judiciary. Your request for information is not covered under the RTI Act. RTI is for seeking information on important decisions made by the Indian Government. If you need information about the number of Indian courts, number of case filed etc., you may contact the Ministry of Law and Justice for the requisite information. "

 

I believe that he should have accepted my RTI application forwarded my request to the Ministry himself. However I asked a friend in India to do it on my behalf.

 

Ofcourse the Ministry did not reply when I tried contacting them by email, so I had to use RTI anyway.

[shandilya 0]

Can anyone suggest me in whose name should the DD or IPO to pay application fees, be made in the Ministry of Law and Justice?

 

I found no information about any accounts officer on their website.

[karira 5,896]

Just make the payees name as "Accounts Officer, Ministry of....."

[sharadphadke 176]

No, I had not paid the fees. I spoke to the Vice Consul (designated PIO) and he said that my query was not covered under RTI act and discouraged me to apply. The following is the text of email he sent me :

"Please refer to your email of 6th June 2011 regarding statistical data on Indian judiciary. Your request for information is not covered under the RTI Act. RTI is for seeking information on important decisions made by the Indian Government. If you need information about the number of Indian courts, number of case filed etc., you may contact the Ministry of Law and Justice for the requisite information. "

 

I believe that he should have accepted my RTI application forwarded my request to the Ministry himself. However I asked a friend in India to do it on my behalf.

 

Ofcourse the Ministry did not reply when I tried contacting them by email, so I had to use RTI anyway.

 

Since your application requires information from many sources i.e. different High Courts you may face a problem of different PIO hence you may be asked to apply them individually. This is a decision on that subject matter by CIC Shri Shailesh Gandhi. This will be useful to you. This will also reduce your cost to get information, I hope,

 

Do keep us posted and best luck in your RTI.

Sec 6(3) – applicability - CIC SM A 2011 000278 SG 12906 M 586481to4.pdf

[dr.s.malhotra 1,471]

Each High Court [ its chief justice ] is a different Competent Authority so transfer u/s 6(3) may not apply . It is like inter-state transfer of Applications .