How to file an RTI application, and what to do when the government does not reply

The Right to Information Act, 2005 lets any citizen ask a government office for its records, for a fee of Rs 10. You do not need a lawyer, and you do not have to say why you want the information.

Who you can ask

The Act covers every "public authority": ministries, departments, municipal bodies, panchayats, public sector companies, courts in their administrative work, and bodies substantially funded by government. Each must appoint a Public Information Officer (PIO) to receive requests.

What you can ask for

"Information" under the Act is broad. It includes records, documents, emails, file notings, opinions, advice, press releases, circulars, orders, logbooks, contracts, reports, samples and data held in electronic form. You can ask to inspect files, take certified copies, or receive information on a CD or by email.

You can ask for what exists on record. The PIO is not required to create new information or answer hypothetical "why" questions. Frame your request as a list of specific documents or figures.

How to file

1. Write a short application addressed to the PIO of the department that holds the record. Plain paper is enough.
2. Number your questions. Ask for documents, not opinions. Give dates and file numbers where you can.
3. Pay the fee of Rs 10 for central government bodies, by postal order, demand draft, court fee stamp or online. States set their own fees, usually similar. Citizens below the poverty line are exempt if they attach proof.
4. Send it by registered post or speed post and keep the receipt, or file online. For central ministries and many central bodies, use rtionline.gov.in. Many states run their own portals.

Deadlines the government must meet

• 30 days to reply, from the date the PIO receives your request.
• 48 hours where the information concerns the life or liberty of a person.
• 35 days if your request was filed through an Assistant PIO.
• If the PIO fails to reply in time, the information must later be supplied free of charge.

If your request belongs to another department, the PIO must transfer it within five days and tell you.

When the answer is no, or no answer comes

First appeal: within 30 days of the reply, or of the deadline passing, appeal to the First Appellate Authority, an officer senior to the PIO in the same department. The appeal should normally be decided within 30 days, extendable to 45.

Second appeal: within 90 days of the first appeal decision, or of its deadline passing, appeal to the Central Information Commission (for central bodies) or the State Information Commission. The Commission can order disclosure and can impose a penalty of Rs 250 a day, up to Rs 25,000, on a PIO who refused without reasonable cause.

What can be refused

Section 8 lists exemptions, including information that would harm national security or sovereignty, Cabinet papers before a decision is taken, information received in confidence from foreign governments, and material that would impede an investigation. Section 8(2) says even exempt information can be disclosed if the public interest outweighs the harm.

The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 amended Section 8(1)(j). Earlier, personal information could be refused only if it had no relation to public activity or interest, or caused an unwarranted invasion of privacy, and the PIO could still release it in the larger public interest. The amended clause exempts information "which relates to personal information" without those qualifiers. Transparency campaigners, including the National Campaign for People's Right to Information, have warned that it could be used to block requests about officials' conduct.

Wording a request

• Ask for copies of file notings: they show who decided what, and when.
• Ask for the number of complaints, the action taken, and the dates. Requests for figures are harder to refuse than requests for explanations.
• Keep every request and reply, including the envelope or the online acknowledgement. You will need them for an appeal.

Readers who receive an RTI reply on a matter of public interest can send it to the newsroom through the tips page.