President's Office given 7-day ultimatum to respond to RaajjeTV's RTI requests; legal action threatened if deadline is missed!
The Information Commissioner has expressed strong dissatisfaction over the President's Office's significant delays in responding to Right to Information (RTI) requests filed by RaajjeTV and its failure to comply with previous directives. Consequently, the President's Office has been ordered to respond to all outstanding requests within seven days, with a stern warning that legal action will be initiated if the deadline is not met.
Information Commissioner Ahid Rasheed. | Sun Online
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICOM) has ordered the President’s Office to respond within seven days to Right to Information (RTI) requests filed by RaajjeTV.
RaajjeTV has filed numerous requests with the President's Office under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. However, the President's Office provided responses to these inquiries only after the expiration of the mandatory deadline required for cases submitted to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICOM).
One of these cases involves a Right to Information (RTI) request submitted by RaajjeTV on October 28, 2025, regarding the President's official travels. The President's Office did not provide a response to that request until July 8, 2026.
Furthermore, the hearing addressed a Right to Information (RTI) request submitted by RaajjeTV on November 12, 2025. The case pertains to a request for clarification regarding remarks made by President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu during the Republic Day ceremony, where he alleged that corruption was being perpetrated by individuals at the middle and lower levels of the administration.
The President's Office initially responded to this Right to Information (RTI) request in January of this year. However, as the response was deemed incomplete, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICOM) ordered the President's Office during a hearing in April to rectify and resubmit the information. The President's Office was granted a 10-day period to comply with this order, effective from April 26, 2026.
However, Information Commissioner Ahid Rasheed expressed his dissatisfaction after the President's Office failed to comply with the commission's directives within the stipulated timeframe.
Despite being granted a 10-day extension to respond to a Right to Information (RTI) request filed by RaajjeTV regarding the Chagos issue, the President's Office has failed to comply with the directive. The RTI inquiry sought to clarify whether the President had engaged in any consultations concerning the Chagos matter.
Consequently, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICOM) has ordered the President’s Office to respond to all pending Right to Information (RTI) requests within seven days. The Commissioner further warned that legal action would be pursued if the office fails to comply.
