Section 11 — Third-Party Information

1. Day 1: RTI received.
2. Day 5: PIO gives written notice to the third party under 11(1) — attaching the request and inviting objections.
3. Day 15: Third party has 10 days to submit written objections.
4. Day 40: PIO decides after considering objections. Must be a reasoned order under Section 7(8).
5. Day 40 + 30: Third party can file first appeal under Section 19(2) if decision adverse to them.

Section 2(n) — a person other than the applicant and the public authority. Typically:

• A tenderer whose bid documents were submitted
• A petitioner who filed a complaint now asked under RTI
• A contractor whose contract terms are requested
• An individual named in a personnel file (rarely triggers — 8(1)(j) more common)

Crucial: the third party's objection is not decisive. Section 11(1) proviso says “except in the case of trade or commercial secrets protected by law, disclosure may be allowed if the public interest in disclosure outweighs in importance any possible harm or injury to the interests of such third party”.

So the PIO weighs:

• Public interest in disclosure — e.g. accountability for public money
• versus Harm to the third party — e.g. competitive disadvantage, reputational harm

• Bihar Public Service Commission v. Saiyed Hussain Abbas Rizvi, (2012) 13 SCC 61 — the Section 11 proviso requires a clear balancing exercise by the PIO, with reasoned findings on both sides.
• Arvind Kejriwal v. CPIO, Delhi HC (2010) — third-party objection alone does not defeat disclosure if public interest is made out.
• CIC in Subhash Agarwal v. ITBP — Section 11 is not a veto; it is a procedural safeguard.

If your RTI necessarily involves a third party, anticipate in the body:

If the above information involves a third party under
Section 11, kindly issue the five-day notice and decide
after 40 days. In weighing objections, the applicant
submits that the public interest in disclosure of
[reason] outweighs any commercial or personal harm,
per Section 11(1) proviso.

• Back to the full RTI Act
• Section 7 — Timelines
• Section 8 — Exemptions
• Section 19 — Appeals (including 19(2))
• Third-party information — detailed explainer
• Third-party notice template

1. RTI Act, 2005, Section 11.
2. BPSC v. Saiyed Hussain Abbas Rizvi, (2012) 13 SCC 61.
3. Arvind Kejriwal v. CPIO, Delhi HC (2010).

Last reviewed on: 21 April 2026