Payment of rti fee through banker's cheque claarification
Seshagiri Viswanatha Rao
(Querist) 12 March 2013
This query is : Resolved
GOOD EVENING EXPERTS
VERY RECENTLY I HAD REMITTED RTI FEE THROUGH BANKER'S CHEQUE BUT THE CPIO CONCERNED HAS RETURNED BACK ON THE GROUNDS THAT ITS SELF BANK CHEQUE AND INSISTED FOR BANK DEMAND DRAFT OR INDIAN POSTAL ORDER. KINDLY INDICATE WHETHER THE PAYMENT EFFECTED BY ME THROUGH BANKER'S CHEQUE IS VALID OR NOT BUT IT WAS CLARIFIED BY THE NODAL MINISTRY UNDER RTI ACT TO THE EFFECT THAT THERE IS NO PROVISION OF RETURN OF FEE BY THE CPIO UNDER RTI ACT 2005 OR THE RTI (REGULATION OF FEE & COST) RULES AND ALSO INDICATE WHETHER FIRST APPEAL MAY BE PREFERRED BEFORE THE APPELLATE AUTHORITY OR FEE HAS TO BE REPAID AFRESHUNDER THE RELEVANT SECTION OF PRINCIPAL ACT 2005 HOWEVER THE CPIO HAS NOT RETURNED BACK MY BANKER'S CHEQUE
Sudhir Kumar, Advocate
(Expert) 12 March 2013
Banker checqu is as good as DD.
You represent to CIC/SIC as it is a case of refusal.
Raj Kumar Makkad
(Expert) 12 March 2013
There is no legal hurdle to pay the fee through cheque, however, if cheque gets bounced, you shall be doubly responsible.
Seshagiri Viswanatha Rao
(Querist) 13 March 2013
but some times, the cic/sic is directing/requesting to exhaust channel of first appeal u/s 19(1) of the Act in the first instance. It is presumed that banker's cheque issued by any bank or self cheque is one at the same which of course is valid one.The return of RTI fee is against the instructions of nodal ministry dated 5th dec 2008. and as this per tjos s[ecific drection/instructions of GOI. the cpio or spio has to accept the fee once paid by an applicant. Likewise, the fee remitted through e M O has not been accepted by PIO
Anirudh
(Expert) 13 March 2013
Mr. Makkad, you are not correct.
Keeping the time limit within which the information sought is to be provided to the RTI Applicant, the RTI Fee is required to be paid either by IPO or DD, because both the instruments are as good as actual payment.
Money Orders are not accepted, for the simple reason that the PIO is not supposed to handle cash. Further more, there is difficulty in fool proof accounting for such cash transactions in the Govt. organizations in such situations.
However, the cheque issued by the RTI Applicant does not fall in the same category. This is for the reason that as you yourself rightly pointed out may or may not get honoured. Therefore cheque not being one of the forms of RTI fee, the question of accepting the same simply does not arise.
You say that in case of dishonour of the cheque the Applicant shall be doubly responsible. I am not sure what you mean by that.
I agree with Mr. Sudhir that Banker's Cheque is as good as DD. BUT MY HUNCH IS what Mr. Seshagiri calls Banker's cheque may be a cheque drawn by him on the account maintained by him in a Bank (AND NOT THE ONE WHICH OBTAINED FROM THE BANK - SIMILAR TO THE D.D.).
Mr. Seshagiri to clarify as to what he meant as BANKER's Cheque.
