The Right to Information Act, 2013
A bill to provide for access to public documents and records
whereas it is expedient to provide a law for the access of the people of Pakistan
It is hereby enacted as follows:---
1. Short title, extent and commencement: i. This Act shall be called the Right to Information Act,
2013;
ii. It shall extend to the whole of Federal Govt./autonomous
bodies/corporations under the federal government.
iii. It shall come into force at once;
2. Definition: In
this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context;
a. “Applicant” means a requester or any person acting for
and on behalf of a requester in person or his counsel;
b. “Complaint” means any grievance registered in writing by
an applicant to the effect that;
i. Access to record has been wrongly denied to a requester;
or
ii. Access to the requisite documents, information or record
has been wrongfully denied to a requester by a public body having custody or
control of the record; or
iii. The information sought by a requester has been unduly
delayed by a public body.
c. “Designated official” means an official of a public body
designated to provide information sought by a requester;
d. “Information” means the public documents and records
required by the requester under this Act, but does not include the records
exempted under section 8 of this Act or disclosure of which may infringe upon
the right of privacy of any individual;
e. “Mohtasib” means the Wafaqi Mohtasib (Ombudsman),
appointed under P.O. No. 1 of 1983, or as the case may be, the Provincial
Mohtasib under whose jurisdiction the federal public body may fall;
f. “Prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under
this Act;
g. “National security” means and includes the matters
pertaining to the integrity, security or defence of Pakistan
h. “Principal Officer” means;
i. In the case of Federal Ministries/ the Secretary of the
Ministry, or Division; and
ii. In all other cases, the head or chief executive of the
public body by whatever designation he may be identified;
j. “Public record” means;
(i) Record mentioned in Section 7, in any form, whether
printed or in writing or in any form such as map, diagram, photograph, Film,
video, microfilm;
(ii) Transactions involving acquisition and disposal of
property and expenditure undertaken by a public body;
(iii) Information regarding grant of licences, approvals,
consents, allotments and other benefits and privileges, and contracts made, by
a public body;
(iv) Any information required to be furnished by a person to
a public body under any law or furnished for the purpose of receiving any
benefit or advantage;
(v) Any information of whatsoever nature in possession of a
public body in which members of the public may have a legitimate interest; but
does not include the following;
(a) All internal working documents of a public body,
including proposals for Cabinet decisions, proposals relating to management of
the national economy, and other affairs of the Government, till such time that
a final decision has been taken and notified by the public body.
(b) Matters relating to law enforcement and public safety,
including:---
(i) Investigative reports undertaken by agencies for the
prevention and detection of crime, and for the collection and assessment of
taxes, including any information obtained or received in the course of any
investigation;
(ii) Any information about the existence or non-existence or
identity of a confidential source of information in relation to the enforcement
of any law;
(iii) Any information the disclosure whereof would endanger
the life or physical safety of any person, or prejudice the fair trial of a
person or the impartial adjudication of a particular case before any court or
tribunal;
(c) Any information relating to scientific or technical
research the disclosure whereof would, or could reasonably be expected to,
expose the concerned organization or project to disadvantage;
(d) Any information the disclosure whereof would violate any
intellectual property rights;
(e) Any information regarding defence planning, deployment
of forces, defence installations, and matters that can legitimately be related
to national security.
j. “Public body” means:---
i. Any Ministry, Division, Department, or attached
Department of the Federal Government;
ii. Any Federal or, and any Municipal or Local authority set
up or established by or under any law;
iii. Any statutory corporation or other body corporate or
institution set up or established or owned or controlled or funded by the
Federal Government;
iv. Any incorporated or unincorporated body or legal entity
functioning under the control or authority of the Federal Government or wherein
one or more of such Governments owns or has controlling interests, or which is
funded by any such government;
v. Any court, tribunal, commission or board.
3. Access to Information not to be denied: (i) Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law
for the time being in force, and subject to this Act, no requester shall be
denied access to any public record other than exemptions mentioned in this Act.
(ii) This Act shall be interpreted so as:---
a. To promote the right to know, and
ii. To facilitate and encourage, promptly and at the lowest
reasonable cost, the disclosure of information.
4. Maintenance and indexing of records.- Subject to provisions of this Act and in accordance with
the rules that may be prescribed, Principal Officer of each public body shall
ensure that all records covered under clause (g) of section 2 of this Act are
properly maintained.
5. Publication and availability of records: (i) The Acts and subordinate legislation such as rules and
regulations, notifications, by-laws, manuals, orders having the force of law in
Pakistan as well as reports of legislative and municipal proceedings and boards
and Commissions shall be duly published and made available at a reasonable
price at an adequate number of outlets so that access thereof is easier, less
time- consuming and less expensive.
(ii) The Principal Officer of each public body shall,
within six months of the commencement of this Act, cause to be published in the
Official Gazette or special publications and shall immediately make available
for inspection and copying, during office hours at each of its offices and
branches, the following information;
(a) Description of the Public body’s organization and
functions, indicating as far as possible the duties and functions of various
officers of the body empowered to take decisions;
(b) Statues, statutory rules, regulations, orders,
notifications applicable to the public body disclosing the date of their
respective coming into force or effect;
(c) Substantive or procedural rules and regulations of
general application evolved or adopted by the public body;
(d) Statement of policies adopted by the public body and the
criteria, standards or guidelines upon which discretionary powers are exercised
by it;
(e)The conditions upon which members of the public can
acquire any licenses, permits, consents, approvals, grants, allotments or other
benefits of whatsoever nature from any public body, or upon which transactions,
and contracts including contracts of employment, can be entered into with
the public body;
(f) The methods whereby specific information in
possession or control of the public body may be obtained, and the basis of the
fee required therefore;
(g) Such other matters which the principal officer of the
public body deems fit to be published in the public interest; Provided that no
information otherwise already published in the Official Gazette shall be
required to be so published under this sub-section.
(2) Any amendment, alteration or modification relating to
matters described in sub-section (i) shall also be published and made available
for inspection and copying in the like manner, and no person shall be adversely
affected by any amendment, modification or alteration of any matter other than
a statute.
6. Computerization of records: (1) Each public body shall Endeavour within reasonable
time an subject to availability of resources that all records covered by the
provisions of this Act are computerized and connected through a network all
over the country on different systems so that authorized access to such records
is facilitated.
(2) The Federal Government shall maintain a website
listing updated rules, application forms as well as the names and addresses of
the designated officials.
7. Declaration of public records: (1) Subject to the provisions of section 8, all record of
public bodies mentioned in this Act is hereby declared to be the public
record.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in any law for
the time being in force, all documents will become public record after 20 years
of their initiation.
8. Exclusion of certain record: (1) All exclusion and classification must be accompanied
by a record of reasons for such exclusion.
(2) Nothing contained in this Act shall apply to the
following record of public bodies, namely:---
a. Record of the banking companies and financial
institutions relating to the accounts of their customers;
b. Records relating to deployment of defence forces, defence
installations or connected therewith or ancillary to national security.
c. Record relating to the meetings of the Cabinet, Council
of Common Interests and National Economic Council and their Committees having a
bearing on national security;
d. Record declared as classified by the Federal Government;
e. Record relating to the personal privacy of any
individual; and
f. Record of private documents furnished to a public body
either on an express or implied condition that information contained in any
such documents shall not be disclosed to a third person.
9. Duty to assist requesters: A public body shall take necessary steps as may be prescribed
to assist any requester under this Act.
10. Designation of official: (1) A public body shall designate and notify an officer on
its staff to whom requests under this Act are to be made. These officials will
be designated to ensure easy public access to information.
(2) In case no such official has been designated or in the
event of the absence or non-availability of the designated official, the
Principal Officer of the public body shall be the designated official.
11. Functions of designated official.- Subject to the provisions of this Act and the rules
made there under, the designated official shall provide the information
contained in any public record or, as the case may be, a copy of any such
record.
12. Applications for obtaining information, etc.: Subject to sub-section (2), any citizen of Pakistan may
make an application to the designated official in the form as may be prescribed
and shall with his application, furnish necessary particulars, pay such fee and
at such time as may be prescribed.
(2) Nothing contained in sub-section (1) shall apply to such
public record as has been published in the Official Gazette or in the form of a
book offered for sale or placed on website for general public consumption.
13. Procedure for disposal of applications: (1) Subject to sub-section (2), on receiving an
application under section 12, the designated official shall, not later than
twenty one days of the receipt of request, supply to the applicant the required
information or, as the case may be a copy of any public record.
(2) In case the designated official, on the authority
of the Principal Officer, is of the opinion that:---
a. The applicant has not furnished necessary
particulars or has not paid such fee as has been prescribed;
b. The required information or, as the case may be, the
required record does not constitute a public record;
c. The required information on as the case may be, the
required record constitutes a record which is excluded under section 8, he
shall record his decision in writing and the applicant shall be informed about
such decision within twenty one days of the receipt of the application.
(3) The information, or the copy of any public record
supplied to the applicant under sub-section (1) shall contain a certificate at
the foot thereof that the information is correct or, as the case may be, the
copy is a true copy of such public record, and such certificate shall be dated
and signed by the designated official.
14. Exempt information from disclosure: Subject to the provisions of this Act, a public body shall
not be required to disclose exempt information.
15. International relations: (1) Information may be exempt if its disclosure would be
likely to cause grave and significant damage to the interests of Pakistan
(2) In this section, “International relations” means
relation between Pakistan
(a) The government of any other foreign State; or
(b) An organization of which only States are members.
16. Disclosure harmful to law enforcement.- Information may be exempt if its disclosure is likely
to:---
(a) Result in the commission of an offence;
(b) Harm the detection, prevention, investigation or inquiry
in a particular case;
(c) Reveal the identity of a confidential source of
information;
(d) Facilitate an escape from legal custody;
(e) Harm the security of any property or system, including a
building, a vehicle, a computer system or a communication system.
17. Privacy and personal information: Information is exempt if its disclosure under this Act
would involve the invasion of the privacy of an identifiable individual
(including a deceased individual) other than the requester.
18. Economic and commercial affairs.- Information is exempt if and so long as its disclosure
is likely to cause:---
(a) Grave and significant damage to the economy as a result
of the premature disclosure of the proposed introduction, abolition or
variation of any tax, duty, interest rate, exchange rate or any other
instrument of economic management;
(b) Significant damage to the financial interests of the
public body by giving an unreasonable advantage to any person in relation to a
contract which that person is seeking to enter into with the public body
for the acquisition or disposal of property of the supply of goods or services,
or
(c) Significant damage to the lawful commercial
activities of the public body.
19. Recourse to the Mothasib and Federal Tax Ombudsman and
the Judiciary: (1) If the applicant is not
provided the information or copy of the record declared public record under
section 7, within the prescribed time or the designated official refuses to
give such information or, as the case may be, copy of such record, on the
ground that the applicant is not entitled to receive such information or copy
of such record, or if a public record is wrongly declared classified or
exempted, the applicant may, within thirty days of the last date of the
prescribed time for giving such information on as the case may be, of such
record, or the communication of the order of the designated official declining
to give such information or copy of such record, a complaint with the head of
the public body and on failing to get the requested information from him
within the prescribed time may file a complaint with the Mohtasib and in cases
relating to Revenue Division, its subordinate departments, offices and agencies
with the Federal Tax Ombudsman.
(2) The Mohtasib or, as the case may be, the federal Tax
Ombudsman, may, after hearing the applicant and the designated official, direct
the designated official to give the information or, as the case may be, the
copy of the record, or may reject the complaint. All such applications shall be
disposed of within 14 days of being filed.
(3) The complainant may challenge the Mohatasib or the
Federal Tax Ombudsman’s decision to classify or exempt a record in the High
Court of competent jurisdiction and in the event of an adverse decision appeal
to the Supreme Court.
20. Dismissal of frivolous, vexatious and malicious complaint: Where a complaint instituted is found to be malicious,
frivolous, vexatious, the complaint may be dismissed by Mohtasib, and fine may
be imposed on the complainant up to an amount not exceeding ten thousands
rupees.
21. Offences:
(1) Any person who destroys a record which at the time it was destroyed was the
subject of a request, or of a complaint with the intention of preventing its
disclosure under this Act, commits an offence punishable with
imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or with fine, or with both.
(2) The designated officer who without reasonable
excuse, fails or refuses to provide inspection or disclose records under
Section 9,10,11,12, and 13 of this Act shall be liable to a fine not exceeding
twenty five thousand.
22. Access not to Constitute Offence: Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for
the time being in force, any access to public information granted by any
officer under this Act, or any action taken in good faith in the exercise or
purported exercise of powers and duties conferred under this Act, shall not
constitute an offence under the Official Secrets Act, 1923, or any other law
for the time being in force.
23. Indemnity:
No official shall be subject to any legal, administrative or employment related
sanction as long as he acted in good faith and in the reasonable belief that
the information was substantially true and within the parameters of this Act.
24. Act to Over-ride other laws: The provisions of this Act shall over-ride, anything
contained in any other law for the time being enforce.
25. Repeal:
The Freedom of Information Ordinance 2002 (XCV of 2002) stands hereby repealed.
26. Power to remove difficulties: If any difficulty arises in giving effect to the
provisions of this Act, the Federal Government may, by order in the official
Gazette, make such provisions not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act
as appear to it to be necessary or expedient for removing the difficulty,
subject to ratification by National Assembly within 120 days.
27. Power to make rules:
(1) The Standing Committee of the National Assembly on Information and
Broadcasting shall, by notification in the official Gazette, within one month
of the enforcement of the Act, make rules for carrying out the purposes of this
Act.
(2) In particular and without prejudice to the
generality of the forgoing, such rules may provide for.
(a) The fee payable for obtaining information and copies of
the public record;
(b) The form of application for obtaining information and
copies of the public record; and
(c) The form in which information from the public
record shall be furnished.
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