RTI Act confers right to access to information held by a Public Authority on all Citizens. The Act also prescribes remedy, when such a right is denied to a citizen. When an applicant do not receive a decision on his RTI Request within 30 days or is aggrieved by the decision, applicant can prefer an Appeal under Section-19(1) and further appeal under section-19(3) before the Information Commission within time limit. In such an appeal, the applicant can seek relief to supply information by PIO.

When an applicant is denied access to information by various reasons specified in Section-18(1), Applicant can file Complaint directly before the Information Commission. There is no time limit for filing complaint. But under the complaint proceedings, the Information Commission cannot direct PIO to supply information, but can only conduct an inquiry and impose penalty on PIO or recommend disciplinary action against PIO, for the reasons as enumerated under Sec-20.

When an information is denied without any reasonable cause, the applicant is entitled to invoke both the remedies - Second Appeal as well as Complaint. Sections 18 and 19 of the Act serve two different purposes and lay down two different procedures and they provide two different remedies. One cannot be a substitute for the other.

18 (1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, it shall be the duty of the Central Information Commission or State Information Commission, as the case may be, to receive and inquire into a complaint from any person, -

• who has been unable to submit a request to a Central Public Information Officer or State Public Information Officer, as the case may be, either by reason that no such officer has been appointed under this Act, or because the Central Assistant Public Information Officer or State Assistant Public Information Officer, as the case may be, has refused to accept his or her application for information or appeal under this Act for forwarding the same to the Central Public Information Officer or State Public Information Officer or senior officer specified in sub-section (1) of section 19 or the Central Information Commission or the State Information Commission, as the case may be;
• who has been refused access to any information requested under this Act;
• who has not been given a response to a request for information or access to information within the time limit specified under this Act;
• who has been required to pay an amount of fee which he or she considers unreasonable;
• who believes that he or she has been given incomplete, misleading or false information under this Act; and
• in respect of any other matter relating to requesting or obtaining access to records under this Act.