A citizen files an RTI application but the Public Information Officer does not respond within the statutory period. Under the Right to Information Act, 2005 the citizen may:

Explanation: Under Section 19 of the RTI Act, 2005, if the Public Information Officer fails to furnish the information within the prescribed period (30 days generally, 48 hours in cases affecting life/liberty), the non-response is DEEMED to be a REFUSAL, and the applicant may file a FIRST APPEAL to a senior officer within thirty days, and a second appeal to the Information Commission. The RTI Act itself does not provide a criminal suit (though failure to comply may attract penalties imposed by the Commission) - the internal appeal ladder is the statutory remedy. The deemed-refusal fiction triggers appellate rights.