How to Force a Government Department to Answer in Punjab
Plain paper is enough, you never give a reason, and there is no fee to ask. The officer who stalls pays two days of salary per day.
A government department in Punjab has fourteen working days to answer a written request for information. Where the information concerns someone's life or liberty, it has two. You do not have to give a reason, and there is no fee to ask.
Plain paper is enough. The officer who refuses without cause can be fined two days of his own salary for every day of delay.
We read the Punjab Transparency and Right to Information Act 2013 on 11 September 2026, in the text published by the Law and Parliamentary Affairs Department.
The rules of the request
| Point | What the Act says |
|---|---|
| Form | A request form or plain paper |
| Reasons | You are not required to provide any |
| Fee to ask | None, beyond the cost of copying or sending |
| Normal deadline | Fourteen working days |
| Extension | A maximum of fourteen further working days |
| Life or liberty | Two working days |
The officer must acknowledge receipt of your application, so the first thing to secure is that acknowledgement.
You never have to say why
This is the provision that changes the conversation at the counter, because the first question asked is almost always why you want it.
Section 10 says an applicant shall not be required to provide reasons for a request, and shall only be required to provide an adequate description of the information and the details necessary to provide it.
So the only thing you owe is a clear description of what you want. Not your purpose, not your standing, not what you intend to do with it.
The same section requires the officer to give reasonable assistance where an applicant has difficulty making the request, including because he cannot describe the information in enough detail, or because he is disabled or illiterate. Help with the wording is part of the duty, not a favour.
You choose the format
Where you indicate a preferred form of access, the public body shall provide it in that form. The Act names a physical copy, an electronic copy, or an opportunity to inspect the documents.
It may depart from your preference only where doing so is likely to interfere with its operations or harm the document, and then it provides the information in a form that serves the purpose.
There is no fee for making a request. The only charge permitted is the cost of reproducing or sending the information, against a schedule of costs set centrally by the Information Commission rather than by the department.
One more detail is worth asking for by name. Any copy of a public record supplied to you must carry a certificate at the foot stating that the information is correct or that the copy is a true copy, and that certificate must be dated, signed and stamped by the public information officer.
The two day rule
Buried in the same subsection is a deadline most people never learn.
The public information officer shall provide information relating to the life or liberty of a person within two working days of receiving the application.
Two working days, not fourteen, and not the extended twenty eight. If what you are asking for bears on someone's life or liberty, say so in the application itself and say why, because the officer cannot apply a deadline he has not been told applies.
Our guide to your rights when you are arrested covers the setting where that clause matters most.
What a refusal must contain
A refusal is not the end, and a bare refusal is not even a valid one.
Where the officer decides not to provide the information, he shall tell you the reasons for that decision, together with a statement that you may file an internal review or a complaint against the refusal under the Act.
So a refusal that gives no reasons, or that does not tell you about your right to review, has not been made in the manner the Act requires. That is worth pointing out in writing.
How to escalate
- Ask the head of the public body for an internal review.
- Do it within sixty days of the decision, or of the failure to answer in time.
- Put it in writing and state the remedy you want.
- The reviewing officer must decide within fourteen days.
- He must notify the decision with reasons, and may order departmental action against the officer.
Internal review covers more than a flat refusal. The Act lists failure to comply with any provision including failure to communicate a decision within the specified time, unreasonable behaviour in exercising a discretion, provision of incomplete, misleading or false information, and any other matter relating to requesting or obtaining access.
The alternative route is a complaint to the Punjab Information Commission, which the Act establishes for the purpose. Internal review is what you use if you have not filed with the Commission.
What it costs the officer to stonewall
Section 15 is the reason this Act is not merely advisory.
Where a public information officer has, without any reasonable cause, refused to receive an application, failed to furnish information within the time limits, denied a request in bad faith, or knowingly given incorrect, incomplete or misleading information, the Commission may direct him to pay a fine.
The fine is not on the department. It is on the officer, and it may be up to two days of his salary for each day of delay, or up to fifty thousand rupees.
Section 16 goes to the record itself. Anyone who destroys a record that was the subject of an application, internal review or complaint, or otherwise obstructs access to it with intent to prevent disclosure, commits an offence punishable with up to two years imprisonment, or a fine of not less than ten thousand rupees, or both.
A court takes up that offence only on a written report made with the previous sanction of the Commission, so the Commission is the gate for it.
What departments must publish anyway
The Act does not rely only on people asking. It requires proactive disclosure by public bodies, requires them to maintain and index their information, and requires each to publish an annual report.
Before writing a request, it is worth checking whether the thing is already published, because a published document arrives today rather than in fourteen working days.
Our guide to the Right to Public Services Act in Punjab covers the companion law that puts a clock on the delivery of a service rather than on the release of information, and can pay compensation to the applicant. Our guide to the Pakistan Citizen Portal covers the federal complaint channel, and our guide to getting a fard online in Punjab covers one record you can obtain directly without any of this.
Common questions
How long does a department have to answer in Punjab?
Fourteen working days, extendable by a maximum of fourteen more, and two working days where life or liberty is involved.
Do I need a special form?
No. An application may be made on the information request form or on plain paper.
Do I have to say why I want it?
No. The Act says an applicant shall not be required to provide reasons.
Is there a fee?
Not for making the request. Only the cost of reproducing or sending the information, on a schedule set by the Commission.
What if they refuse?
The refusal must carry reasons and tell you about review. You may seek internal review within sixty days, or complain to the Commission.
Can the officer be penalised?
Yes. Up to two days of his salary for each day of delay, or up to fifty thousand rupees.
Last checked and sources
Last checked 11 September 2026. We downloaded the Punjab Transparency and Right to Information Act 2013 from the Punjab Code portal at punjablaws.punjab.gov.pk, in the text published by the Law and Parliamentary Affairs Department, Government of the Punjab, and read it. The Act was published on 16 December 2013. Section 10 permitting an application on an information request form or on plain paper and requiring the public information officer to acknowledge receipt; providing that an applicant shall not be required to give reasons and need only give an adequate description of the information; requiring reasonable assistance where an applicant has difficulty including by reason of disability or illiteracy; requiring access in the applicant's preferred form, whether a physical copy, an electronic copy or inspection, unless that would interfere with operations or harm the document; barring any fee for making a request other than the cost of reproducing or sending the information under a schedule of costs set centrally by the Commission; requiring a response as soon as possible and in any case within fourteen working days, extendable by a maximum of a further fourteen working days where necessary including for a search through a large number of records or consultation with a third party or another public body; requiring information relating to the life or liberty of a person within two working days of receipt; requiring a refusal to state reasons together with a statement that the applicant may file an internal review or a complaint; and requiring a supplied copy to carry a dated, signed and stamped certificate that the information is correct or the copy is true, are all taken from that text. Section 12 on internal review, its sixty day limit from the decision or the failure to provide information within the stipulated time, the fourteen day period for the reviewing officer to confirm, modify or reverse the decision, the duty to notify with reasons, and the power to order departmental action against a negligent officer, is from the same source, as are the grounds listed for review. Section 15 allowing the Commission, after affording the officer an opportunity of defence, to direct payment of a fine not exceeding two days' salary for each day of delay or a fine extending to fifty thousand rupees; and section 16 punishing destruction of a record subject to an application, review or complaint, or obstruction of access with intent to prevent disclosure, with imprisonment up to two years or a fine of not less than ten thousand rupees or both; and section 17 requiring the previous sanction of the Commission before a court takes cognizance of that offence, are also from that text. Sections 3, 4, 5, 8 and 9 on access to information, proactive disclosure, the establishment of the Punjab Information Commission, maintenance and indexing of information and annual reports of public bodies are referred to as published. Section 13 sets out exceptions under which an officer may refuse an application, and this article does not attempt to summarise them; check that section before assuming a particular record must be released. Information law is provincial and this is the Punjab Act, so a different law applies elsewhere. Nothing here is legal advice.
About the author
Author
Ali Akhtar is a young and curious voice here at Pakistan Era. He is currently pursuing his A-Levels and has a growing interest in Pakistan’s changing industrial landscape and educational trends. Ali likes to write in a way that helps him explain and explore the world around him. His writing reflects the perspective of the new generation navigating the evolving trends of Pakistan where technology, youth innovation, and shifting opportunities are reshaping the country’s future.
