The Insurance Ombudsman's office is refusing to share a record I need, including the recording of my hearing. How do RTI, the first appeal and the second appeal to the CIC work, and what arguments help?
1 Answers
I want to share the method because it's replicable and almost nobody uses it.
The RTI playbook that eventually broke it open:
- File an RTI (₹10). The Insurance Ombudsman is a public authority - you can file online at rtionline.gov.in. Ask specific, answerable questions: was X received, on what date, provide the record of Y, provide the video recording of my hearing, etc. Keep each question factual and precise.
- When they stonewall, file the First Appeal (free). Same portal. Ground: "incomplete/misleading/false information." You get a First Appellate Authority (FAA) order.
- When the FAA rubber-stamps them, file the Second Appeal to the CIC (free). This is the step most people don't know exists. It goes to an independent Information Commissioner.
- Show up (or join online) and argue it. I filed a written submission and a one-page rejoinder, and made five points, the key ones being:
- A record that exists can't be refused without citing an exemption under Section 8 or 9 of the RTI Act - and they cited none.
- Section 10 (severability) kills the "composite recording" excuse: they must clip and give my segment. Storage format is their problem, not a ground to deny.
- Their own contradiction: they say there's no written acceptance, yet the award records that I "accepted." One of those can't be true.
- The CIC backlog is real. Budget a year+ for the second-appeal stage.
- Keep everything in writing. Email, don't call. Every submission, every acknowledgement.
If you want to read more, I'm documenting everything on BimaFiles
