RTI Glossary — 80 plain-language definitions

The PIO is required to acknowledge the application fee and send a written acknowledgement. If fees aren't accepted within 5 days, the application is deemed accepted on Day 1.

The constitutional principle that public servants must answer for their decisions and conduct. RTI is the legal mechanism enforcing this for record-bearing decisions.

Under the DPDP Act 2023 — the officer who hears data-protection complaints. Distinct from the FAA / SIC under RTI.

Landmark Supreme Court ruling that established RTI does not extend to opinion or reasoning the public authority hasn't formed; only to recorded “information.”

Not permitted under RTI. The applicant must be identifiable as a citizen of India under §3.

The §6(1) request — must be in writing (or electronic), specify the information sought, accompanied by the prescribed fee.

Disclosable under §4(1)(b)(xii) — every public authority must publish lists of beneficiaries of programs administered by it.

RTI replies that omit the document and only summarise are weak before SIC; original record disclosure (severed if needed) is the safer route.

Below-Poverty-Line citizens are exempt from the Rs. 10 fee. Documentation: BPL ration card or letter.

On the PIO to justify any §8 refusal — see §19(5) which puts the onus on the public authority.

Police record under §172 CrPC. Case-diary RTIs from non-parties are typically refused under §8(1)(h) (investigation pending) — Khanapuram Gandaiah supports this.

The apex appellate body for Central public authorities. Established under §12. Decides Second Appeals from Central PIO/FAA orders.

Only citizens of India can file an RTI under §3. Companies, NGOs, foreign nationals don't have the §3 right (though they can request through a citizen friend).

RTI applicants are not required to demonstrate “clean hands” or non-vexatious purpose — see Bandopadhyay (the only test is whether information is held by a public authority).

Police report under §173 CrPC indicating no chargesheet. Disclosable under RTI to parties + with §8 balance to non-parties.

§8(1)(d) exemption. Narrowly read post-decision; wholesale refusal to disclose tender records is now consistently struck down by HCs.

SIC/CIC may direct the public authority to compensate the applicant for any loss suffered. Rare but powerful.

PIO who has personal stake in the matter should recuse and transfer to another PIO under §6(3).

The day the application physically (or electronically) reaches the PIO. The §7(1) 30-day clock starts the next day.

The PIO's reasoned response — disclosure, partial disclosure, refusal with sub-clause citation, transfer, or fee-additional notice.

§7(2). If the PIO fails to reply within 30 days, the application is treated as refused for purposes of First Appeal under §19(1). The 30-day appeal window starts from Day 31.

R.K. Deshpande v. SIC Maharashtra — service records of a serving public official are disclosable to the extent they form part of “public activity” but personal items (medical leave, marital status) need §11 third-party balance.

Information that, after applying §8 and §10 tests, must be released. The default position under §3.

Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023. Doesn't repeal RTI but interacts with §8(1)(j) — see DPDP Rules 2026 §4 for the consent factor in §8(1)(j) analysis.

The §7(8) requirement that PIO orders state the section, sub-clause, and reasons for refusal — not just the conclusion.

Any record kept in digital form. Per Delhi HC 14-Feb-2026: holiday extensions don't apply to electronic records.

§3: any citizen of India. §6(2): no requirement to state purpose.

§7(9): if the information is too voluminous to copy, the PIO can offer inspection of records. Inspection is treated as a form of disclosure.

Any of the 10 §8(1) grounds for refusal: (a) sovereignty, (b) court orders, © breach of privilege, (d) commercial confidence, (e) fiduciary, (f) foreign govt, (g) endanger life, (h) investigation, (i) cabinet, (j) personal information.

The senior officer designated by the public authority to hear First Appeals. Must be at least one rank above the PIO. Decision within 30-45 days under §19(6).

§7(3) — when the application requires substantial preparation/copying, the PIO must notify the applicant of the actual cost within 7 working days; the §7(1) clock pauses until the additional fee is paid.

Internal handwritten or system notes on a file. R.K. Jain v. UoI — disclosable post-decision; pre-decisional notings may be withheld under §8(1)(i).

§19(1) — appeal to the FAA within 30 days of the PIO order (or 30 days after the §7(1) deadline if PIO is silent).

The standard application format under most state RTI Rules. Not strictly mandatory — §6(1) only requires the application to be in writing.

A public servant filing RTI in personal capacity is treated as any other citizen (no special status, no special restriction).

Distinct from RTI — grievances go to a Grievance Redressal Officer or via cpgrams.gov.in. RTI surfaces records, not opinions.

§2(j) — the information must be “held” by or under the control of the public authority. Information that should exist but doesn't (“there is no such record”) is a valid PIO response.

JSON-LD markup for procedural steps; auto-emitted on RTI Wiki articles with numbered Steps sections.

§7(9) — physical inspection of voluminous records at the public authority's premises, under PIO supervision.

§8(1)(h) — disclosure that would impede the investigation, apprehension, or prosecution of offenders. Requires a named FIR or PE per Kerala SIC Full Bench (Jan 2026).

Most reliable RTI fee instrument. Available at any post office. Nominal commission. Payable to “Accounts Officer, [department]”.

SC ruling that RBI cannot use §8(1)(d) or (e) to refuse bank inspection reports where there is no fiduciary relationship and public interest in disclosure is high.

HC and SC records have separate RTI rules under §28 (each court makes its own rules). Subordinate court records typically through registry.

SC ruling — case diaries in pending investigations are protected from RTI disclosure to non-parties.

Applications concerning life and liberty must be replied to within 48 hours (not 30 days). Strictly applied; broadly defined to include health records, custodial records, missing persons.

Not required under RTI. Any citizen can ask for any record, regardless of personal interest. (Differs from writ jurisdiction.)

Each state RTI Rules specify acceptable modes (IPO/DD/court fee stamp/online). State portals page on this site lists each state's accepted modes.

A formal challenge to a PIO order; usually framed as a First Appeal under §19(1).

SC ruling on the eligibility criteria for SIC commissioners — must be persons of eminence with experience in law, science, governance, social work.

Third-party notice — when the requested information involves a third party's interests, the PIO must give written notice to that third party within 5 days; objections decided within 40 days total.

§20(1) penalty — up to ₹250/day (now per-month per CIC Shailesh Gandhi 19-Mar-2026), max ₹25,000.

RTI filing portal — Central portal at rtionline.gov.in; state portals vary (see /state-rti-portals-directory).

§20 — CIC/SIC may impose ₹250/day on PIO for unjustified delay or refusal, capped at ₹25,000. Also disciplinary action recommendation.

Under DPDP — a “data principal.” Under RTI — a “citizen” (much narrower; only Indian citizens have §3 right).

The officer designated by every public authority to receive and decide RTI applications. Each public authority may have multiple PIOs by department/region.

§2(h) — body established by/under Constitution, by Parliament/State Act, or owned/controlled/substantially financed by Government. Plus NGOs substantially financed by Government.

§8(2) — even if information is otherwise exempt, disclosure is mandatory if public interest in disclosure outweighs the harm protected by the exemption. Post-14-Nov-2025 framework requires the FAA to record a written balance order in either direction.

RTI is for records (information that exists), not questions/opinions. “Why” and “what should we do” questions are not RTI requests.

§20 — defence against penalty: PIO can show reasonable cause for the delay. Must be specific, not generic (“staff shortage”).

The §11 third-party whose interests are affected by the requested disclosure.

Records held by a contractor that performed work for a public authority on its behalf can be RTI-able through the public authority (see Indian Olympic Association ruling).

PIO refusal must (i) cite the specific sub-clause invoked, (ii) state reasons, (iii) provide FAA contact and timeline. Generic refusals are routinely set aside on First Appeal.

Landmark — file notings on a policy decision are disclosable AFTER the decision is taken.

sansad.in — the Indian Parliament portal. Use for MP attendance, questions asked, debates participation.

17-category proactive disclosure list — every public authority must publish these on its website (organizational structure, functions, budget, beneficiary lists, etc.).

Transfer provision — if the PIO doesn't hold the information, they must transfer the application within 5 days to the PIO who does, and inform the applicant.

30-day reply window. Starts from day after receipt.

Reasoned-order requirement for any refusal — the PIO must state which sub-clause(s) of §8 are invoked and the specific reasons.

The 10 grounds for refusal. Each sub-clause has a specific scope and is narrowly read.

Public interest override — see above.

Severability. The PIO must disclose the non-exempt portions even if some parts of a record are exempt.

Third-party procedure — notice + objection + decision.

First Appeal to FAA within 30 days.

Second Appeal to CIC/SIC within 90 days.

Penalty against PIO for unjustified delay/refusal.

§10 — disclose what's disclosable; redact only what's exempt. Refusal of the whole record because part is exempt is a procedural error.

Each state's apex appellate body, established under §15. Decides Second Appeals from state public authorities.

JSON-LD markup that flags content for voice assistants. Auto-emitted on every RTI Wiki article.

SC ruling — cooperative societies are NOT public authorities under §2(h)(d) unless substantially financed by government.

Anyone other than the applicant whose interests are affected by the requested information. §11 protects them.

RTI Wiki tool that computes §7(1), §19(1), §19(3) deadlines from your filing date.

PIO must forward the application within 5 days if it concerns information held by another public authority.

Municipal corporations, councils, panchayats. They are public authorities under §2(h) and have their own PIOs. City pages on this site list each city's ULB.

“Information not available” without searching, “go through the website”, “this is policy”, “you should know” — all are §7(8)(i) violations and grounds for First Appeal.

Citizenship verification — the PIO can ask for citizenship proof if there's a reasonable doubt, but cannot use it as a delay tactic.

“Vexatious” is NOT a valid RTI refusal ground. The Act does not contain this restriction (see CIC Shailesh Gandhi orders).

A separate statute (Whistleblower Protection Act 2014) protects identity. RTI cannot be used to identify a whistleblower under §8(1)(g) (endanger life).

A common framing in RTI requests — “year-wise” plus a date range (e.g., FY 2020-21 to FY 2025-26) helps the PIO scope retrieval.

• §3 — Right of citizens
• §4(1)(b) — Suo motu disclosure (17 categories)
• §6(1) — Application
• §6(3) — Transfer
• §7(1) — 30-day reply
• §7(2) — Deemed refusal
• §7(3) — Fee-additional
• §7(8)(i) — Reasoned order
• §7(9) — Inspection of voluminous records
• §8(1)(a)–(j) — Exemptions
• §8(2) — Public interest override
• §9 — Refusal where third-party copyright
• §10 — Severability
• §11 — Third-party procedure
• §19(1) — First Appeal
• §19(3) — Second Appeal
• §19(8)(b) — Compensation
• §20 — Penalty
• §24 — Schedule 2 organisations exemption
• §27 — State Government rule-making
• §28 — Competent authority rule-making

Last reviewed: 24 April 2026.

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