Table of Contents
Section 29 — Laying of Rules
Quick Reply: Rules under the RTI Act are executive instruments, and §29 is the legislative leash: Central rules must be laid before each House of Parliament for 30 days, and either House may modify or annul them within the following session; State rules must be laid before the State Legislature. A rule that was never laid is procedurally vulnerable — a point that matters when an authority leans on a rule to refuse you.
The section's two duties
- Central rules (made under §27 by the Central Government): laid “as soon as may be after it is made” before each House, while in session, for a total period of thirty days (one session or more). If, before the expiry of the session following, both Houses agree on a modification or that the rule should not be made, the rule thereafter has effect only in the modified form — or none. Anything already done under it stays valid.
- State rules (made under §27 by a State Government): laid, as soon as may be after notification, before the State Legislature.
This is the classic “negative legislature” design: the rule operates at once, but elected Houses retain the last word.
Why it matters to an applicant
- Rules carry the fees, formats and procedures of your application (see Prescribed — who may make RTI rules and the state fee hub).
- When an office refuses or demands something “as per rules,” the legitimate questions become: which rule, notified when in the Gazette, and laid where? Ask by RTI for the rule's Gazette notification and its laying details.
- A rule not laid is open to the objection of procedural invalidity; a rule beyond §27/§28's subject-list is open to ultra vires objection — a rule cannot add exemptions beyond §8 or shift the §7 clocks.
- Fee-rule changes that never reached the Gazette are a recurring theme — our fee pages carry the verified current position, state by state.
FAQs
Does laying make a rule valid automatically?
Laying is a condition of continued effect for Central rules; validity also depends on the rule staying inside the power the Act grants. Both can be attacked.
Can either House annul a state rule?
§29's modify/annul mechanism is written for the Central rules; the State-rules paragraph requires laying before the legislature — the legislature's own procedures govern what follows.
Where do I find whether a rule was laid?
The Gazette notification gives the rule; the laying appears in Parliament/legislature papers — ask the ministry's CPIO by RTI for the laying date and session.
A state demands a fee its portal invented — is that a rule?
If it is not a notified, laid rule under §27, it is not “prescribed” — challenge it in the first appeal.
Related
Sources
- Right to Information Act, 2005, Sections 27, 28, 29.
Last reviewed on: 27 August 2026. The invented sub-section list corrected to the section's actual two paragraphs; applicant-facing use of laying defects added; headline boilerplate removed.