Filing RTI in Uttar Pradesh — complete guide on rules, fees, and the online portal for 2026:
Step 1: UP RTI rules. (a) Uttar Pradesh has its own RTI Rules (the Uttar Pradesh Right to Information Rules, 2015 — notified under the Central RTI Act, 2005 — which apply to all public authorities in UP — state government departments, municipalities, panchayats, police, courts, and public sector undertakings), (b) the fee is Rs 10 (payable by court-fee stamp — or Indian Postal Order — or cash — at the PIO's office — or through the online portal — if available), © the application can be in Hindi or English (the PIO must accept applications in either language — under Section 6(1) of the RTI Act — and in UP — Hindi is the primary language — and most PIOs accept Hindi applications), (d) the PIO must respond within 30 days (48 hours if the information concerns life or liberty — under Section 7(1)), (e) the first appeal is filed with the First Appellate Authority (FAA — within 30 days of the PIO's response — or non-response), (f) the second appeal is filed with the Uttar Pradesh State Information Commission (located in Lucknow — within 90 days of the FAA's order — or non-response).
Step 2: Online filing. (a) the UP government has an online RTI portal (jansunwai.up.nic.in — or through the e-Sugam portal — the citizen can file RTI online — to state government departments), (b) the process: (i) register on the portal (with mobile number and email — OTP verification), (ii) select the department (and the sub-department — and the PIO), (iii) write the RTI application (in the text box — or upload a PDF — in Hindi or English), (iv) pay the fee (Rs 10 — online — through net banking, UPI, or credit/debit card), (v) submit — and get a registration number (for tracking), © the online portal is available for most state government departments (but not for central government departments in UP — for central departments, use rtionline.gov.in), (d) the PIO's response is sent electronically (to the registered email — and can be viewed on the portal).
Step 3: How to file offline. (a) write the application (on plain paper — in Hindi or English — with the applicant's name, address, and the information sought — and the fee — court-fee stamp of Rs 10), (b) submit to the PIO (by hand — at the PIO's office — and get a receiving — or by registered post — with the court-fee stamp), © the court-fee stamp of Rs 10 is available at the treasury office — or the court — or the post office — in UP, (d) the PIO must respond within 30 days (if submitted by hand — or within 35 days if submitted by post — the 30-day period starts from the date of receipt by the PIO), (e) if the PIO does not respond: file a first appeal (with the FAA — within 30 days of the non-response — i.e., within 60 days of filing the RTI), (f) if the FAA does not respond: file a second appeal (with the UP State Information Commission — in Lucknow — within 90 days of the FAA's non-response — i.e., within 120 days of filing the first appeal).
Step 4: Common issues in UP. (a) PIO not designated (many departments — especially at the Panchayat level — have not designated PIOs — or the PIOs are additional charge — and do not respond — in UP — the Panchayat Secretary is the PIO — at the Gram Panchayat level — but may not be aware), (b) court-fee stamp not available (the court-fee stamp of Rs 10 is available at the treasury — or the court — or the post office — but may not be available in rural areas — use the online portal — or the IPO), © Hindi applications rejected (some PIOs reject Hindi applications — which is illegal — under Section 6(1) — the PIO must accept applications in the official language — Hindi is the official language of UP), (d) the State Information Commission is slow (the UP SIC has a huge backlog — with thousands of pending second appeals — and the appeals take 2-5 years — the SIC is located in Lucknow — and conducts hearings in Lucknow — and through video conferencing), (e) municipal corporations (the Noida Authority, Ghaziabad Development Authority, Lucknow Municipal Corporation — and other urban bodies — have their own PIOs — and the RTI process is separate), (f) police (the UP Police — including the District Police, the GRP, and the Special Police — have PIOs at the district level — and the RTI can be filed for FIR copies, investigation status, etc.).
Step 5: File RTI on UP-specific issues. (a) land records: ask the Lekhpal (or the Tehsil) for: (i) the Khata Khatiyan (of [plot number] — village [name] — tehsil [name] — for the year [year]), (ii) the Fard (of [plot number] — village [name]), (iii) the mutation entry (of [plot number] — village [name] — and the status), (b) civic issues: ask the Nagar Nigam / Nagar Palika / Nagar Panchayat for: (i) the status of [complaint number] (filed on [date] — for [issue] — the action taken), (ii) the building permission (of [building] — the approved map — and the OC status), © police: ask the police for: (i) the FIR copy (of FIR number [number] — at [police station]), (ii) the status of the investigation (of FIR number [number] — the charge sheet — and the trial status), (d) education: ask the school/college for: (i) the admission criteria (and the number of seats — and the list of admitted students), (ii) the fee structure (and the fee hike approval — from the Fee Regulation Committee), (e) ration card: ask the Food and Civil Supplies Department for: (i) the ration card status (application number [number] — the current status — and the reason for delay), (ii) the PDS supply (at FPS [number] — for the month [month] — the stock position).
Step 6: UP State Information Commission. (a) the Commission is located in Lucknow (at the UP State Information Commission — at the address available on the website — upsic.gov.in), (b) the second appeal is filed with the Commission (in writing — with the RTI application, the PIO's response, the first appeal, the FAA's order — and the fee — if any), © the Commission can: (i) order the PIO to provide the information (within a specified timeline), (ii) impose a penalty (Rs 250 per day — up to Rs 25,000 — under Section 20(1)), (iii) recommend disciplinary action (against the PIO — under Section 20(2)), (iv) order compensation (to the appellant — under Section 19(8)(b)), (d) the Commission's orders are available on the website (upsic.gov.in — for reference), (e) the Commission conducts hearings (in person — in Lucknow — and through video conferencing — for distant appellants).
Step 7: Practical tips. (a) use the online portal (jansunwai.up.nic.in — for faster filing — and tracking), (b) file in Hindi (if the records are in Hindi — e.g., land records — the PIO cannot reject on language grounds), © be specific (the PIOs in UP — especially in rural areas — may not be trained — be specific — and avoid vague queries), (d) use the Authority RTI (for civic issues in Noida/Ghaziabad — file with the Authority PIO — not the state department), (e) follow up (the PIOs may not respond — follow up with the FAA — and the Commission), (f) Example: A citizen filed RTI with the Lekhpal — asking for the Khata Khatiyan — the Lekhpal did not respond — the citizen filed a first appeal — the FAA ordered the Lekhpal to respond — the Lekhpal provided the Khata Khatiyan — showing that the land was wrongly mutated — the citizen used the RTI reply to challenge the mutation — and to save his land from a fraudulent transfer.