Home
+
Published : 14 Jun 2014, 08:05 PM
Eight government intelligence agencies, however, are beyond this law’s purview.
The Information Commission website outlines the process to request information. We present the process here with some additional details.
1. A citizen seeking information from a government or non-government office has to contact the officer designated to handle such requests.
The Information Commission has a comprehensive list of officers in government and non-government offices, who are in charge of providing information to citizens.
2. A citizen has to collect a request form from such officers, fill it, and submit it by hand or via email. The form is also available at the commission website.
It is advisable to keep a copy of the application.
3. The officer concerned has to provide the information within 20 working days. He can take 30 days if the information has to be collected from more than one department or office.
The officer will give the information in soft form, a printed copy, photocopy or a CD.
The applicant has to pay Tk 2 for each page of a printed or photocopied document or the price of the CD. For information published in a book form, the applicant must pay the listed price.
4. In case the information cannot be given out for some reason, the officer must inform the applicant within ten days. The sought information being a state secret or questions of an exam that is yet to be held could be among the reasons for withholding it. A full list of these exceptions to the rule can be seen here.
5. A citizen can file an appeal with the Information Commission if the information sought is not provided. The complaint form can be found here.
The commission has to resolve these appeals within 15 working days.
