Table of Contents
Section 25 — Monitoring and Reporting
Quick Reply: Under §25, each Information Commission prepares an annual report on the Act's implementation, fed by data every ministry and department must supply. The report counts requests, refusal provisions invoked, appeals and outcomes, disciplinary actions, and fees collected — and the Government lays it before Parliament or the legislature. §25(5) adds a quiet weapon: where an authority's practice does not conform to the Act, the Commission can formally recommend the steps to fix it.
The machinery
- 25(1): the Commission prepares the implementation report “as soon as practicable after the end of each year” and forwards it to the appropriate Government.
- 25(2): each Ministry/Department must collect and supply the data for its public authorities — and keep the records to back it.
- 25(4): the Government causes the report to be laid before each House of Parliament / the State Legislature.
- 25(5): where an authority's practice does not conform to the provisions or spirit of the Act, the Commission may recommend the steps it should take.
What the report must state — §25(3)
- (a) the number of requests made to each public authority;
- (b) the number of refusals, the provisions invoked (which §8 clauses, how many times);
- © appeals to the Commission — nature and outcome;
- (d) disciplinary action taken against officers over the Act's administration;
- (e) the amount of charges and fees collected;
- (f) facts indicating effort to administer the Act's spirit;
- (g) recommendations for reform.
How citizens use Section 25
- Research the counterparty: an RTI for the department's §25(2) data — requests received, refusals with provision-wise counts, appeals lost, penalties — maps how an office actually behaves. A department refusing everything under §8(1)(d) shows up in its own numbers.
- Pattern complaints: refusal statistics feed a §18 complaint about a *practice*, not just one order — the §25(5) conformity power backs exactly that framing.
- Annual reports as reference: CIC annual reports are published on cic.gov.in; they carry the national picture and reform recommendations.
- Ask for the laid copy: the report laid before Parliament is public record; ask the ministry's PIO for it.
FAQs
Is there a deadline for laying the report?
The text says “as soon as practicable after the end of each year” (§25(4)) — not a fixed 12-month deadline; delays are common and visible.
Can I get my department's refusal statistics by RTI?
Yes — it is exactly the §25(2) data the department must maintain; ask provision-wise for the last year.
What is the 25-5 recommendation worth in an appeal?
It is a formal Commission recommendation directed at a practice; citing a pending or past 25(5) recommendation in an individual appeal shows systemic recognition of the defect.
Do SIC reports go to state legislatures?
Yes — the same section applies: SIC report → State Government → laid before the state legislature.
Related
Sources
- Right to Information Act, 2005, Section 25.
- CIC annual reports (cic.gov.in).
Last reviewed on: 27 August 2026. Misattributed case citation dropped; the invented 12-month laying deadline corrected to the statutory wording; the s.25(5) conformity power and citizen-use sections added.