Special Branch, Lakshadweep Police. This Act may be called the Right to Information Act, It extends to the whole of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir. The provisions of sub-section 1 of section 4, sub-sections 1 and 2 of section 5, sections 12, 13, 15,16, 24 , 27 and 28 shall come into force at once, and the remaining provisions of this Act shall come into force on the one hundred and twentieth day of its enactment.
Subject to the provisions of this Act, all citizens shall have the right to information. It shall be a constant endeavour of every public authority to take steps in accordance with the requirements of clause b of sub-section 1 to provide as much information suo motu to the public at regular intervals through various means of communications, including internet, so that the public have minimum resort to the use of this Act to obtain information.
For the purposes of sub-section 1 , every information shall be disseminated widely and in such form and manner which is easily accessible to the public.
All materials shall be disseminated taking into consideration the cost effectiveness, local language and the most effective method of communication in that local area and the information should be easily accessible, to the extent possible in electronic format with the Central Public Information Officer or State Public Information Officer, as the case may be, available free or at such cost of the medium or the print cost price as may be prescribed. Every public authority shall, within one hundred days of the enactment of this Act, designate as many officers as the Central Public Information Officers or State Public Information Officers, as the case may be, in all administrative units or offices under it as may be necessary to provide information to persons requesting for the information under this Act.
Without prejudice to the provisions of sub-section 1 , every public authority shall designate an officer, within one hundred days of the enactment of this Act, at each sub-divisional level or other sub-district level as a Central Assistant Public Information Officer or a State Assistant Public Information Officer, as the case may be, to receive the applications for information or appeals under this Act for forwarding the same forthwith to the Central Public Information Officer or the State Public Information Officer or senior officer specified under sub-section 1 of section 19 or the Central Information Commission or the State Information Commission, as the case may be: Provided that where an application for information or appeal is given to a Central Assistant Public Information Officer or a State Assistant Public Information Officer, as the case may be, a period of five days shall be added in computing the period for response specified under sub-section 1 of section 7.
Every Central Public Information Officer or State Public Information Officer, as the case may be, shall deal with requests from persons seeking information and render reasonable assistance to the persons seeking such information.
The Central Public Information Officer or State Public Information Officer, as the case may be, may seek the assistance of any other officer as he or she considers it necessary for the proper discharge of his or her duties. Any officer, whose assistance has been sought under sub-section 4 , shall render all assistance to the Central Public Information Officer or State Public Information Officer, as the case may be, seeking his or her assistance and for the purposes of any contravention of the provisions of this Act, such other officer shall be treated as a Central Public Information Officer or State Public Information Officer, as the case may be.
An applicant making request for information shall not be required to give any reason for requesting the information or any other personal details except those that may be necessary for contacting him. Subject to the proviso to sub-section 2 of section 5 or the proviso to sub-section 3 of section 6, the Central Public Information Officer or State Public Information Officer, as the case may be, on receipt of a request under section 6 shall, as expeditiously as possible, and in any case within thirty days of the receipt of the request, either provide the information on payment of such fee as may be prescribed or reject the request for any of the reasons specified in sections 8 and 9: Provided that where the information sought for concerns the life or liberty of a person, the same shall be provided within forty-eight hours of the receipt of the request.
If the Central Public Information Officer or State Public Information Officer, as the case may be, fails to give decision on the request for information within the period specified under sub-section 1 , the Central Public Information Officer or State Public Information Officer, as the case may be, shall be deemed to have refused the request. Where access to the record or a part thereof is required to be provided under this Act and the person to whom access is to be provided is sensorily disabled, the Central Public Information Officer or State Public Information Officer, as the case may be, shall provide assistance to enable access to the information, including providing such assistance as may be appropriate for the inspection.
Where access to information is to be provided in the printed or in any electronic format, the applicant shall, subject to the provisions of sub-section 6 , pay such fee as may be prescribed: Provided that the fee prescribed under sub-section 1 of section 6 and sub-sections 1 and 5 of section 7 shall be reasonable and no such fee shall be charged from the persons who are of below poverty line as may be determined by the appropriate Government.
Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section 5 , the person making request for the information shall be provided the information free of charge where a public authority fails to comply with the time limits specified in sub-section 1. Before taking any decision under sub-section 1 , the Central Public Information Officer or State Public Information Officer, as the case may be, shall take into consideration the representation made by a third party under section An information shall ordinarily be provided in the form in which it is sought unless it would disproportionately divert the resources of the public authority or would be detrimental to the safety or preservation of the record in question.
Provided that the decisions of Council of Ministers, the reasons thereof, and the material on the basis of which the decisions were taken shall be made public after the decision has been taken, and the matter is complete, or over: Provided further that those matters which come under the exemptions specified in this section shall not be disclosed;.
Provided that the information which cannot be denied to the Parliament or a State Legislature shall not be denied to any person. Notwithstanding anything in the Official Secrets Act, nor any of the exemptions permissible in accordance with sub-section 1 , a public authority may allow access to information, if public interest in disclosure outweighs the harm to the protected interests.
Subject to the provisions of clauses a , c and i of sub-section 1 , any information relating to any occurrence, event or matter which has taken place, occurred or happened twenty years before the date on which any request is made under secton 6 shall be provided to any person making a request under that section:. Provided that where any question arises as to the date from which the said period of twenty years has to be computed, the decision of the Central Government shall be final, subject to the usual appeals provided for in this Act.
Without prejudice to the provisions of section 8, a Central Public Information Officer or a State Public Information Officer, as the case may be, may reject a request for information where such a request for providing access would involve an infringement of copyright subsisting in a person other than the State.
Where a request for access to information is rejected on the ground that it is in relation to information which is exempt from disclosure, then, notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, access may be provided to that part of the record which does not contain any information which is exempt from disclosure under this Act and which can reasonably be severed from any part that contains exempt information.
Where a notice is served by the Central Public Information Officer or State Public Information Officer, as the case may be, under sub-section 1 to a third party in respect of any information or record or part thereof, the third party shall, within ten days from the date of receipt of such notice, be given the opportunity to make representation against the proposed disclosure.
Notwithstanding anything contained in section 7, the Central Public Information Officer or State Public Information Officer, as the case may be, shall, within forty days after receipt of the request under section 6, if the third party has been given an opportunity to make representation under sub-section 2 , make a decision as to whether or not to disclose the information or record or part thereof and give in writing the notice of his decision to the third party. A notice given under sub-section 3 shall include a statement that the third party to whom the notice is given is entitled to prefer an appeal under section 19 against the decision.
The Central Government shall, by notification in the Official Gazette, constitute a body to be known as the Central Information Commission to exercise the powers conferred on, and to perform the functions assigned to, it under this Act.
However, there are multiple independent websites that let you file your application online. They charge you a nominal amount, for which they draft your application and send it to the relevant department.
This is as good as sending an RTI application without having to worry about the particulars. Filing RTI through us is an easy 5 minute process. Our experts have information about RTI filing for thousands of government offices across the country. All government agencies, whether they are under a state government or the Centre, come under the purview of the Act. The list is quite an exhaustive one. You can ask a government how much money is being spent on renovation of its ministers' bungalows, what their telephone bill or fuel expenditure is.
You can ask how much of allocated money your elected representatives have utilised on improving their constituency; you are entitled to ask for even a break-up of the amount spent, project-wise.
This RTI information is available because it is the taxpayers' money that is being spent here. Few ministries and departments make online rti replies available to the public. You can see them on the respective websites. Not only governments and their departments, but also smaller units such as your city corporation or gram panchayat fall under the ambit of RTI.
Even email communications and data held in electronic form has to be made available to citizens upon an RTI application. Twenty-odd organisations are exempted from RTI. Further, there are some specific instances whereby RTI information cannot be furnished. These instances relate to matters which:.
However, RTI law says that any information which cannot be denied to a Member of Parliament or state legislature cannot be denied to any citizen. Be it never-ending delay in dispatch of passport or police dilly-dallying in giving you a copy of FIR you might have filed, submit an RTI application asking pointed questions.
Highly likely this will be the beginning of the end of your woes. Pending income tax return, pension's release, withdrawal or transfer of PF, release of Aadhaar card or issuance of property documents or driving licence. Using the RTI tool in any of these scenarios—or other cases involving a government agency—will guarantee you an official response, based on which you can take things further if your issue is not solved.
Times Internet Limited. All rights reserved. For reprint rights. Times Syndication Service. BI India Bureau. The case was heard by the Supreme Court on 20 July The Supreme Court's Order set a deadline of 15 September for the Central Government to advise when the Act will be notified and if not, when interim Administrative Guidelines would be issued. Click here for the final recommendations in table form. Sonia Gandhi, to the Prime Minister's Office. CHRI's summary of the Bill was also produced.
A range of civil society activists also gave evidence before the Committee. With presidential assent, the Central Government and State Governments had days to implement the provisions of the Bill in its entirety. The Act formally came into force on 12 October The formal recognition of a legal right to information in India occurred more than two decades before legislation was finally enacted, when the Supreme Court of India ruled in State of U.
Raj Narain that the right to information is implicit in the right to freedom of speech and expression explicitly guaranteed in Article 19 of the Indian Constitution. Subsequently, the Court has affirmed this decision in numerous cases , and has even linked the right to information with the right to life enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution.
With presidential assent, the Central Government and State Governments now have days to implement the provisions of the Bill in its entirety. The Act covers all Central Government, State Government and local bodies, as well as some private bodies.
The Government of India has notified a new set of Rules combining the Rules relating to fees and costs payable under the Right to Information Act and the appeals procedure before the Central Information Commission which were notified in
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