FAA Speaking Order Format: 5 Templates for RTI First Appeals

A speaking order is the FAA's only protection against a second appeal. Information Commissions routinely set aside FAA orders that simply say “appeal allowed” or “appeal rejected” without engaging with the appellant's grounds. The Department of Personnel and Training's RTI training material warns FAAs that a one-line order is “no order at all”. This page gives you templates that pass that test.

• Section 19(1) appeal received — FAA must pass an order within 30 days, extendable to 45 days under Section 19(6) with reasons recorded.
• Whether you allow or reject the appeal — both outcomes need a speaking order.
• Even if appellant withdraws — record the withdrawal as an order on file.
• Third-party hearing under Section 11 — the FAA hears the third party and PIO before disposing of the appeal.
• Deemed-refusal appeals — FAA must direct the PIO to supply the information within a fixed deadline.

• Section 19(1) RTI Act 2005 — applicant's right to file First Appeal within 30 days.
• Section 19(6) — FAA must dispose of the appeal within 30 days, extendable to 45 days for reasons recorded in writing.
• Section 7(2) — deemed refusal where PIO fails to reply within 30 days.
• Section 8 + Section 10 — exemption clauses and severance.
• Section 11 — third-party procedure.
• DoPT Office Memorandum F. No. 1/9/2009-IR — guidance on speaking orders.

Every FAA order under Section 19(6) should contain the following nine elements in order:

1. Heading — name of office, FAA name and designation, date.
2. Appeal number and date of receipt.
3. Appellant's particulars — name, address, original RTI reference and date.
4. PIO's reply in summary, with date.
5. Grounds of appeal — the appellant's stated grounds, summarised faithfully.
6. Hearing notes — date(s) of hearing, who attended, oral submissions.
7. Findings paragraph by paragraph — FAA's reasoning on each ground.
8. Order — the operative direction (information to be supplied / appeal rejected / partial disclosure with severance / etc.).
9. Right to second appeal — note that the appellant may approach the Central or State Information Commission within 90 days under Section 19(3).

Use when the FAA has decided the PIO refused without lawful ground and the records must be supplied in full.

OFFICE OF THE [DEPARTMENT NAME]
[Address]

ORDER UNDER SECTION 19(6) OF THE RTI ACT, 2005

Appeal No.: FAA/[YYYY]/[NNN]
Date of receipt of appeal: [date]
Date of order: [date]

1. The appellant Shri / Smt [name], resident of [address], filed an
   application under Section 6(1) of the RTI Act, 2005 with this office on
   [date], reference RTI No. [XXX], seeking the following information:
   [verbatim quote of points sought].

2. The Public Information Officer (PIO), [PIO designation], replied on
   [date] stating: [summary of PIO's stand].

3. Aggrieved, the appellant filed a First Appeal under Section 19(1) on
   [date] on the following grounds: [paraphrase of grounds].

4. A hearing was held on [date]. The appellant attended in person /
   through video link. The PIO attended and made oral submissions.

5. Findings.
   (a) The information sought at point 1 falls squarely within the
       scope of Section 2(f) of the Act and is held by this office.
   (b) The PIO has not pleaded any exemption under Section 8(1).
   (c) Mere claim of "voluminous" or "irrelevant" is not a ground for
       refusal (Adesh Kumar v. Union of India, Delhi High Court, 2014).
   (d) The PIO has a positive duty under Section 5(4) to seek
       assistance of any other officer, and under Section 6(3) to
       transfer the application within five days if the records are
       held elsewhere.

6. Order.
   (a) The appeal is allowed.
   (b) The PIO shall supply the records sought at points [list] in
       full to the appellant within fifteen (15) days of receipt of
       this order, free of further fee.
   (c) Compliance report to be placed before the undersigned within
       twenty (20) days.

7. The appellant is informed that, if aggrieved by this order, a
   second appeal lies before the [Central / State] Information
   Commission within 90 days under Section 19(3).

(Signature)
[FAA Name]
First Appellate Authority
[Designation, Office]

Use when part of the file legitimately attracts an exemption but the rest must be supplied.

ORDER UNDER SECTION 19(6) OF THE RTI ACT, 2005

Appeal No.: FAA/[YYYY]/[NNN]
Date of order: [date]

[Paragraphs 1 to 4 as in Template 1]

5. Findings.
   (a) The note-sheet at pages [x to y] of file [name] contains
       personal information of a third party that is not in the
       larger public interest under Section 8(1)(j), as analysed in
       Girish Ramchandra Deshpande v. Central Information
       Commissioner (2013) 1 SCC 212.
   (b) The remaining portions of the file contain administrative
       and policy correspondence that is not exempt.
   (c) Section 10(1) of the Act requires the PIO to sever the exempt
       portion and supply the rest. The PIO has not done so.

6. Order.
   (a) The appeal is partly allowed.
   (b) Pages [x to y] of file [name] are upheld as exempt under
       Section 8(1)(j) read with Section 10(1).
   (c) The PIO shall sever and supply pages [list] of file [name]
       to the appellant within fifteen (15) days, redacting only
       the third-party identifiers under Section 10(1).
   (d) Reasons for redaction shall be communicated to the appellant
       in writing under Section 10(2).

[Closing as in Template 1]

Use when the FAA agrees with the PIO that the records are exempt.

ORDER UNDER SECTION 19(6) OF THE RTI ACT, 2005

Appeal No.: FAA/[YYYY]/[NNN]
Date of order: [date]

[Paragraphs 1 to 4 as in Template 1]

5. Findings.
   (a) The records sought at point [x] consist of [describe nature
       of the record without revealing exempt content].
   (b) These records relate to [security / commercial confidence /
       fiduciary capacity / personal information] and squarely
       attract Section 8(1)([clause]) of the Act.
   (c) The public-interest test under the proviso to Section 8(1) /
       Section 8(2) has been examined. On the facts of this appeal,
       the larger public interest does not outweigh the harm
       contemplated by the exemption, because [state reasons].
   (d) The remaining records at points [list] are not exempt and
       were already supplied by the PIO on [date].

6. Order.
   (a) The appeal is rejected as regards point [x].
   (b) No further direction is necessary.

[Closing as in Template 1]

Use when the PIO failed to reply within thirty days under Section 7(1) and the appellant has filed under Section 7(2).

ORDER UNDER SECTION 19(6) OF THE RTI ACT, 2005

Appeal No.: FAA/[YYYY]/[NNN]
Date of order: [date]

1. RTI dated [date], reference [XXX].
2. The PIO did not reply within thirty (30) days. The information is
   deemed to have been refused under Section 7(2) of the Act.
3. The appellant has filed this appeal under Section 19(1) on [date].
4. A hearing was held on [date]. The PIO appeared and stated that
   [reason for delay].

5. Findings.
   (a) The PIO's reasons do not constitute "fit cause" under
       Section 19(1) proviso.
   (b) Deemed refusal is a serious breach of the citizen's
       statutory entitlement and prima facie attracts Section 20
       penalty proceedings, which lie before the Information
       Commission, not the FAA.

6. Order.
   (a) The appeal is allowed.
   (b) The PIO shall supply the information sought in the original
       RTI dated [date] in full, free of further fee, within ten
       (10) working days of receipt of this order.
   (c) Compliance report to the undersigned within fifteen (15) days.
   (d) A copy of this order is placed on the personal file of the
       PIO; the matter of penalty under Section 20 is left open for
       the Information Commission to consider in any second appeal.

[Closing as in Template 1]

Use when a third party (whose information was disclosed by the PIO) has filed an appeal, or where the appellant seeks third-party records.

ORDER UNDER SECTION 19(6) READ WITH SECTION 11 OF THE RTI ACT, 2005

Appeal No.: FAA/[YYYY]/[NNN]
Date of order: [date]

1. Appellant: [name and capacity — applicant / third party].
2. RTI sought: [records that pertain to a third party].
3. The PIO issued a notice to the third party under Section 11(1) on
   [date]. The third party submitted representations on [date].

4. A hearing was held on [date]. Both the appellant and the third
   party were heard; minutes are on file.

5. Findings.
   (a) The information involves [trade secret / personal data /
       confidential commercial information] of the third party.
   (b) Under Section 11(1), the PIO is required to weigh the
       public interest in disclosure against possible harm to the
       third party.
   (c) On the facts of this appeal, [the larger public interest
       outweighs / does not outweigh] the harm.

6. Order.
   (a) [Disclosure ordered with redactions / disclosure refused /
       full disclosure].
   (b) The third party is informed that, if aggrieved, an appeal
       lies before the [Central / State] Information Commission
       under Section 19(2) within thirty (30) days.

[Closing as in Template 1]

• One-line orders. “Appeal disposed of” or “rejected” without findings — these are routinely set aside on second appeal.
• Cut-and-paste of PIO's reply as the FAA's reasoning — the FAA must apply an independent mind.
• Missing hearing date. Even where the appellant does not seek a hearing, record the offer of a hearing in the order.
• Forgetting Section 10 severance — refusing the entire file when only one paragraph attracts an exemption.
• Confusing Section 19(8) penalty powers with FAA powers — the FAA cannot impose Section 20 penalty; that lies with the Commission. (See What FAA can and cannot do.)
• No mention of the right of second appeal — Section 19(3) right is mandatory information.
• Issuing the order in the local language only when the appellant has filed in English (and vice versa) — supply translation if requested.

The appellant may file a second appeal before the Central / State Information Commission under Section 19(3) within 90 days of the FAA order. The Commission has, in numerous decisions, set aside FAA orders that are not speaking orders, and remanded the matter for fresh disposal. See, for example, the CIC's standing instructions to FAAs in Decision No. CIC/AT/A/2007/00112 (general guidance, refer to your jurisdictional Commission's circulars for the binding text). For the citizen pathway, see Second Appeal under Section 19(3).

Yes. The expression “decision in writing” in Section 19(6) is read with the principles of natural justice; the order must record reasons. A non-speaking order is treated as no order at all in second appeal.

No. The order must be in writing, signed and dispatched to the appellant and the PIO.

Section 19(6) allows up to 45 days, but the FAA must record the reasons for the extension on file before exceeding 30 days.

The Act is silent, but DoPT guidance and CIC orders treat a hearing as a part of natural justice when the appellant requests it. Always offer a hearing in the acknowledgement letter.

No. Penalty under Section 20 lies only with the Information Commission. The FAA can only direct disclosure and record adverse remarks for the PIO's personal file.

The appellant should file a non-compliance complaint with the Commission under Section 18, along with the second appeal under Section 19(3) if necessary.

No. The FAA's order is final at her level and goes to both parties simultaneously.

• The Right to Information Act, 2005 — Section 19, Section 11, Section 8, Section 10.
• Department of Personnel and Training, rti.gov.in — FAA training material.
• *Bhagat Singh v. CIC*, Delhi High Court, 2007.
• *Adesh Kumar v. Union of India*, Delhi High Court, 2014.
• *Girish Ramchandra Deshpande v. CIC*, (2013) 1 SCC 212.
• Central Information Commission, cic.gov.in — illustrative speaking-order decisions.

• What FAA can and cannot do
• Section 8 appeal checklist
• Deemed-refusal checklist
• Third-party appeals
• FAA delay beyond 45 days
• How to file a First Appeal (citizen guide)
• Second Appeal under Section 19(3)

Last reviewed: 9 May 2026.