Section 24 RTI Act: Exempt Intelligence and Security Organisations

Section 24 of the RTI Act, 2005 exempts intelligence and security organisations listed in the Second Schedule from the Act's coverage. The current list includes CBI, IB, R&AW, DGQA, NTRO, BSF, CRPF, and several others. However, Section 24(1) proviso preserves RTI for allegations of corruption or human-rights violations against any exempted body.

Part of the PIO / FAA Knowledge Base.

• List — intelligence and security organisations in the Second Schedule: IB, R&AW, CBI, NTRO, DGQA, DCSI, DGHS, BSF, CRPF, CISF, SSB, ITBP, NCB, NSG, ACAF, EID, DRI, and more.
• Scope of exemption — the RTI Act does not apply to records of these organisations.
• Proviso — allegations of corruption or human-rights violations against a listed body are covered by RTI (with Commission approval for human-rights cases).
• Not absolute — the listed-body exemption is subject to routine administrative disclosure (budget, structure) via §4(1)(b) if the body chooses.
• Key test — Director, IB v. Sanjiv Chaturvedi (SC 2019) — §24 exempts the body, not all information about it.

Section 24(1): Nothing contained in this Act shall apply to the intelligence and security organisations specified in the Second Schedule, being organisations established by the Central Government or any information furnished by such organisations to that Government: Provided that the information pertaining to the allegations of corruption and human rights violations shall not be excluded under this sub-section: Provided further that in the case of information sought for is in respect of allegations of violation of human rights, the information shall only be provided after the approval of the Central Information Commission, and notwithstanding anything contained in section 7, such information shall be provided within forty-five days from the date of the receipt of request.

• Director, IB v. Sanjiv Chaturvedi (SC 2019) — The §24 exemption covers the body itself; corruption proviso is a real and significant carve-out.
• CBI v. CPIO CBI (Delhi HC 2011) — CBI is §24-exempt; even within exemption, FIRs remain public once registered.
• Enforcement Directorate v. CIC (SC 2024) — ED is §24-exempt but aggregate data / corruption-allegation data disclosable.
• CIC on IB service record requests (CIC 2015) — Routine service records within §24; corruption allegations disclosable under proviso.

Browse the full case-law database — 362 curated rulings for more.

• Blanket invocation without a specific statutory anchor and reasoning.
• Skipping public-interest balancing under §8(2) where an override is plausible.
• Generic “sensitive” labels instead of the precise clause.
• Missing 30-day clock tracking — §7(1) drives downstream appeals.
• No severance attempt under §10 where parts of the record are disclosable.

Q1. Is the Second Schedule fixed?

No. Section 24(2) permits the Central Government to notify amendments to the Schedule. Several additions have been made since 2005.

Q2. How does the corruption proviso work?

An RTI applicant can seek information about alleged corruption in a §24 body; the body must respond. Burden of bona fide is low; Commission tests for genuine corruption context.

Q3. And human rights?

Human-rights allegation requests go through Commission approval and must be answered within 45 days.

Q4. Are State-level intelligence bodies covered?

§24 covers Central bodies. State police intelligence / vigilance are not automatically under §24 but may enjoy §8(1)(h) or State-law protection.

Q5. Does §24 cover all CBI records?

Formally yes, subject to the corruption / human-rights provisos. FIRs are public; operational case files are within §24.

• Sibling framework pages: §19(1) First Appeal Guide · §19(3) Second Appeal · §20 Penalty · §22 Override · §24 Exempt Bodies
• Procedure side: PIO Reply Guide · FAA Speaking-Order Guide
• §8 exemption deep-dives: §8(1)(j) · §8(1)(e) · §8(1)(h) · §8(1)(i)
• Full Act text: RTI Act with DPDP 2025 overlay
• Landmark rulings: 362 curated RTI cases

• PIO / FAA Knowledge Base (hub)
• All 10 grounds for RTI rejection
• Appellate review checklist
• RTI Glossary — 40 essential terms

• Right to Information Act, 2005.
• Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, §44(3) — notified 14 November 2025.
• Supreme Court and High Court judgments cited above.
• Central Information Commission and State Information Commission decisions, as indexed in our case-law database.

Last reviewed: 24 April 2026.