The main legal point established is that a complainant under Section 18 of the RTI Act can file a statutory appeal under Section 19(1) of the Act if dissatisfied with the information provided, as per the statutory mechanism provided in the Act.

ORDER :

1. By way of present writ-application filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India the writ-applicant herein has prayed for the following reliefs :-

“(A) To issue a writ of mandamus or a writ in the nature of mandamus or any other appropriate writ, order or direction to set aside the impugned order dated 08-03-2018 passed by Respondent No: 2 and Direct the Respondent No:2 to re number the complaint in complaint register and after hearing the petitioner necessary order according to law be passed by Respondent No.2.

(B) YOUR lordship may pleased to permit the present petitioner to Appear /Represent this/his case in person in compliance of rule 31A of the Gujarat High Court Rules 1993.

(C) The cost of this petition Rs.50000/-be allowed in favour of the petitioner.

(D) The Hon'ble Court may kindly be pleased to grant any other appropriate relief as the nature circumstances of the case may require.”

2. It is the case of the writ-applicant that, one of the victim of land grabber a headstrong person has acquired nearly 300 acres of agricultural lands in the name of a firm in District Anand in State of Gujarat. The land grabber is not an agriculturest but by submitting fabricated bogus documents before Revenue Officers and in connivance with the officers certified those entries. The land grabber obtained one bogus certificate from respondent No.3 and presented before Mamlatdar at Ankalav Dist : Anand and got the sale deed entries certified in the revenue records. In this way this chain of conspiracy went in other Districts of Gujarat. In this way, acquired huge crunch of lands by playing fraud with the farmers as well as the State. Though the Collectors of State, Police Department, the Revenue Department etc., are well aware of illegal acts of such headstone person, instead of taking stringent action they are allowing him to carry out his illegal acts may be due to any kind of gratification. When the present writ-applicant received such information from Mamlatdar -Ankalav that a certificate is issued by the respondent No.3 that "Viral Hasmukhrai Ajmera is an agriculturist in District Gandhinagar village CHALA.", the writ-applicant preferred RTI application before respondent No.3. The Respondent No.3 being the custodian of Revenue Record willfully did not part the requested information nor replied to the writ-applicant therefore, it is a clear cut breach of the RTI Act as well as other laws.

3. Being aggrieved and dissatisfied with the refusal of information the writ-applicant herein preferred a complaint before the respondent No.2 on 1.3.2018 under Section 18 of RTI Act, 2005 as per prescribed format. The Respondent no:2 registered the complaint under Section 18 of the RTI Act as a Second Appeal being no A-1742-2018 and passed an order on 08.03.2018 disposing of the Appeal reserving the liberty in favour of the writ-applicant to prefer statutory Appeal under Section 19 of the RTI Act. The said order is subject matter of challenge before this Court invoking Article 226 of the Constitution of India.

4. Heard party-in-person Mr. Prakash Ishwarbhai Patel, Mr. Shivang Shah, the learned advocate appearing for the respondent No.2 and Ms. Shruti Pathak, the learned AGP appearing for the respondents No.1 and 2.

5. The party-in-person Mr. Prakash Ishwarbhai Patel vehemently submitted that the writ-applicant is constrained to challenge the action of the respondent for not providing the requested information under the RTI Act as well as the notifications issued by the respondent No.1 under the Revenue Code as well as the Gujarat (Right of Citizens to Public Services) Act, 2013.

6. The writ-applicant filed application before the respondent No.3 which was not decided within a stipulated time period, therefore the writ-applicant herein approached the respondent No.2 by filing complaint under Section 18 of the RTI Act. The said application was decided by the respondent No.2 vide order dated 8.3.2018 reserving the liberty in favour of the writ-