Delayed RTI disclosure can attract statutory penalty even if no first appeal was filed.

Delayed supply of information under the Right to Information Act, 2005 can justify statutory penalty where the requested material is furnished only after substantial delay. The Delhi High Court held that the penalty imposed at the prescribed rate for the period of delay was sustainable because complete information reached the applicant only after more than 100 days, and the absence of a first appeal did not negate the consequence of the delay. The challenge therefore failed, the penalty order was upheld, and the petition was dismissed.

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Issues: Whether the Central Information Commission was justified in imposing penalty for delayed supply of information under the Right to Information Act, 2005, and whether the absence of a first appeal affected the validity of the penalty.

Analysis: The information sought was not supplied within time and was furnished only after a delay of over 100 days. The penalty was imposed at the statutory rate for the period of delay. The failure to pursue a first appeal did not alter the fact that complete information reached the applicant only on 6 March 2010.

Conclusion: The penalty order was upheld and the challenge to it failed.

Final Conclusion: The petition was dismissed, leaving the penalty undisturbed.

Ratio Decidendi: Where information under the Right to Information Act, 2005 is supplied belatedly, the statutory penalty for delay can be sustained, and non-exhaustion of the first appeal does not defeat the consequence of the delay.

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