RTI Act: When 'Record Not Found' Becomes a Criminal Question

The Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005 creates a statutory right in favour of citizens and corresponding statutory duties for public authorities and public information officers (PIOs).A PIO is not merely processing an administrative request. The officer is required to adhere to duties prescribed by the Act, including the obligation under Section 7 to deal with an application within the prescribed period and communicate the decision in accordance with law. The question becomes legally significant when an official response is not merely delayed or erroneous, but knowingly false. If a PIO knows that a record exists and nevertheless states that it does not, the issue may move beyond ordinary administrative lapse and into the field of statutory and, in an appropriate case, criminal accountability.A criminal analysis must begin by separating three situations. A record may genuinely be unavailable to the PIO despite a reasonable search. There may be negligence or defective record management. Or an officer may know that the record exists and deliberately deny its existence. These situations cannot be treated alike. Section 20 of the RTI Act itself recognises the significance of mala fide denial and knowingly giving incorrect, incomplete or misleading information. It also covers destruction of information and obstruction in furnishing it. Thus, the Act itself draws a distinction between an ordinary failure and conduct involving knowledge or mala fides.Why Section 198 BNS mattersSec