Chennai: The state information panel has warned state human rights commission (SHRC) for not complying with the provisions of the Right To Information Act to furnish reply to RTI queries within the stipulated time.Chief information commissioner Atulya Misra, while disposing of a plea filed in 2024, censured SHRC’s public information officer and said public authorities should furnish reply to petitions filed under Section 19 (1) of the RTI Act within 30 days.M Dhanasekaran, of Kancheepuram, filed the petition in June 2024, to the public information officer of SHRC, seeking details of investigation officers and dates of investigation carried out in connection with a SHRC case registered in 2019. He filed his first appeal in July 2024, and then a second appeal before the info panel.When the appeal was taken up for hearing, public information officer Vidyalakshmi appeared before the commission and said that replies to the original petitions were furnished in Sept 2024 and Nov 2025, but failed to produce a copy of the 2024 reply before the commission. She also submitted a third reply furnished to the petitioner dated July 2026.The chief information commissioner, while observing that it is clear the petitioner was not provided with relevant information within 30 days, pointed out that the appellate authority too ignored the first appeal by the petitioner. The commissioner warned that the public authority will be penalised under relevant provisions of the RTI Act if the public information officer does not discharge her/his duties.However, the commission accepted the latest reply provided by the public information officer as full and relevant and disposed of the appeal.
