Disposal of Complaints by the Information Commission

The Information Commission decides complaints and conveys its decision to the complainant and Appellate Authority/Designated Officer.

Any person who, does not receive a decision within the time specified, or is aggrieved by a decision of the Designated  Officer or the Appellate Authority, as the case may be, may within thirty days from the expiry of such period or from the receipt of such a decision submit a complaint to the Information Commission. 

On receipt of a complaint the Chief Information Commissioner, if finds it necessary, may himself inquire into or direct inquiry by any of the Information Commissioners into the contents of the petition.

The Commission may decide a complaint after hearing the parties to the complaint or by inspection of documents produced by the complainant and Designated Officer or the Appellate Authority who decided the appeal or the third party (if any and if required).

The Commission will inform of the date of hearing to the parties concerned before the date of hearing. 

The parties may present their statements before the Commission either personally or through their engaged lawyers at the time of hearing.

  a) any citizen of Bangladesh may lodge a complaint to the Information Commission for any of the following reasons namely:

*if he gets no information under sub-section (1) of section 13;

*if he is aggrieved by the decision on his appeal under section 24;

*if he gets no information within the time-limit mentioned in section-24 or, as the case may be, gets no decision about providing information

 b) a complaint may be lodged to the Information Commission at any time in respect of any matter mentioned in sub-section (1) of section-13, and within 30 (thirty) days from the date of such decision or, as the case may be, the date of exceeding the time-limit in respect of any matter mentioned in section-24.

 c) the Information Commission, for any reasonable cause, may accept the appeal even after the expiry of that time.

  d) if the Information Commissioner is satisfied upon an complaint or otherwise that any authority or, as the case may be, any Officer-in-charge has failed to do an act in accordance with the provisions of this Act, it may take action against such authority or, as the case may be, such Officer-in-charge.

  e) on receipt of a complaint, if it is required, the Chief Information Commissioner himself shall inquire into the complaint or delegate the duty to any other Information Commissioner to inquire into the same.

  f) during the inquiry into any complaint, the authority or the Officer-in-charge against whose decision the complaint is lodged, shall be given an opportunity to present arguments in support of his decision.

  g) if a third party is involved in the complaint, the Commission shall also give such third party an opportunity to present his statements.

h) the Information Commission shall, in general, dispose of any complaint within 45 (forty-five) days of receiving such complaint, provided that the time limit of disposing of a complaint shall not, in any way exceed more than 75 (seventy five) days.