Even as the proposed RTI rules await notification, the central information commission (CIC) has jumped the gun by implementing the draft rules.

In response to a recent RTI application which had 20 queries, the commission replied only to 10 queries. It has asked the applicant, a reporter with The Times Of India, Chennai, to file a separate application for the rest of the 10 questions.

“Your queries number 1 to 10 would qualify as one request' for which you have paid the application fee of Rs 10. You may therefore, send separate request and pay fee for your queries number one 11 to 20,'' said the reply, dated December 30, 2010.

The application, among other things, sought information on penalties imposed on the public authorities by the CIC and the cases in which the public authorities obtained court stay on orders passed by the commission.

On December 10, department of personnel and training (DoPT), had put the drat RTI rules on its website. DoPT gave 27 days to the civil society and public to send their comments on the same.

Governance Now was the first to report the development (see links below).

One of the draft rules, asking the RTI applicant to frame the application in 250 words, has drawn lot of flak from the civil society.