How do I file an RTI application?

1What you can ask for

You can seek almost any information held by a public authority — central, state or local government bodies and PSUs:

• Copies of documents, files, records and government orders
• The status and reasons for a decision on your application/case
• Inspection of works and records, and certified samples
• Information on policies, expenditure and the functioning of the department

2How to file an RTI

The process is simple and citizen-friendly:

1. Write the application to the PIO of the concerned public authority, in English, Hindi or the local language.
2. State your questions clearly and specifically (vague or sweeping questions get rejected).
3. Pay the ₹10 application fee (by IPO, DD, court-fee stamp, or cash where allowed; people below the poverty line are exempt).
4. For central government departments, file online at rtionline.gov.in; many states also have their own RTI portals.

3Timelines and fees

The Act sets firm deadlines:

• The PIO must respond within 30 days of receiving the application
• Within 48 hours if the information concerns the life or liberty of a person
• The fee is ₹10; additional charges (e.g. ~₹2 per page of photocopies) may apply for the information provided, and the first 20 days of delay can make the information free

4If you're ignored or refused

You have a clear, two-stage appeal route — and you don't need a lawyer:

• First appeal: if you get no reply within 30 days or an unsatisfactory one, file a first appeal with the First Appellate Authority (a senior officer in the same department) within 30 days.
• Second appeal: if still unresolved, file a second appeal with the Central or State Information Commission, which can order disclosure and even penalise the PIO.

5What section 8 keeps out of reach

The right is broad but not unlimited, and refusals almost always cite section 8. Knowing the list tells you whether a refusal is genuine or reflexive.

• Information affecting sovereignty, security, strategic or economic interests of the State
• Information expressly forbidden by a court, or whose disclosure would be contempt
• Information that would breach parliamentary or legislative privilege
• Commercial confidence, trade secrets or intellectual property, unless the larger public interest warrants disclosure
• Information held in a fiduciary relationship, again subject to public interest
• Personal information with no relationship to public activity or interest, or which would cause unwarranted invasion of privacy
• Information that would endanger a person's life or safety, or identify a confidential source
• Cabinet papers, though these become available after the decision is taken and the matter complete

6Third-party information and the section 11 process

Where the information you want relates to or was supplied by someone other than the public authority, the officer must follow a separate procedure before disclosing it.

The third party is given notice and an opportunity to object, usually within ten days, and their objection is considered — but it is not decisive. The officer may still disclose where the public interest in disclosure outweighs any harm to the third party's protected interests.

This adds time: the response deadline extends to forty days where the section 11 process is invoked. It is a common and legitimate reason for a delayed reply.

7The appeal ladder, and the penalty that gives it teeth

A refusal or a non-reply is not the end, and the escalation is deliberately cheap and simple.

The first appeal goes to an officer senior to the Public Information Officer within the same authority, within thirty days of the refusal or of the expiry of the reply period. There is no fee. The second appeal goes to the Central or State Information Commission within ninety days of the first appellate order.

The Commission can impose a penalty on the PIO personally — ₹250 for each day of delay, up to ₹25,000 — for refusing an application without reasonable cause, not furnishing information within time, or giving incorrect or misleading information. It is a personal liability, not the department's, which is what makes it effective.

8Which bodies are covered

The Act reaches public authorities — bodies constituted by the Constitution, by legislation, or by government notification, and bodies owned, controlled or substantially financed by government, including non-government organisations substantially financed by it.

A purely private company is not directly covered. But information about a private body that a public authority can access under any other law can be obtained from that public authority, which is the indirect route people miss.

Certain intelligence and security organisations are exempt, though even they must disclose information relating to allegations of corruption and human rights violations.