Section 13 — Term of Office and Conditions of Service (CIC)

Section 13 of the RTI Act — Term of Office and Conditions of Service (CIC)

Quick Reply: The RTI (Amendment) Act, 2019 rewrote §13: the CIC's fixed five-year term and Supreme-Court-Judge-equivalent salary are gone — both are now “as may be prescribed” by Central Government rules. The 2019 Rules prescribe a three-year term (or until age 65) and fixed pay of ₹2,50,000 a month for the CIC and ₹2,25,000 for an IC. What survives in the statute: an IC elevated to CIC still cannot exceed five years in aggregate.

In one line: Section 13 was substantially substituted by the RTI (Amendment) Act, 2019. Earlier, a fixed 5-year term and Supreme Court Judge-equivalent salary. Now, the Central Government prescribes the term and conditions of service through rules.

Key points

  • 13(1), (2), (5) substituted in 2019 — term and service conditions to be 'as may be prescribed by the Central Government'.
  • Current rules: the RTI (Term of Office, Salaries and Other Terms and Conditions of Service) Rules, 2019 — three-year term (or until age 65); CIC ₹2,50,000/month (Cabinet Secretary level), IC ₹2,25,000/month (Secretary level).
  • The 2019 changes were challenged in Anjali Bhardwaj; not struck down but SC directed procedural safeguards.

Legislative history

  • 2005 — Original Section 13: fixed 5-year term; salary of Supreme Court Judge.
  • 24 October 2019 — RTI (Amendment) Act No. 24 of 2019 substituted 13(1), 13(2), and 13(5).
  • 2019 — RTI Rules, 2019 notified — 3-year term, Secretary-level salary.

Rulings and references

  • Anjali Bhardwaj v. Union of India, WP (C) No. 436 of 2019 (15 February 2019) — the Supreme Court directed the Union and the States to fill Information Commission vacancies and cut pendency; the case is about vacancies and backlogs, not the 2019 Amendment itself. Full text.
  • The earlier “(2020) 11 SCC 345 upheld the amendment” line was unverifiable and has been removed (a citation correction — see the review note below).

Practical note

Whether a Commissioner is on a 3-year or 5-year term matters for how they handle long-pending appeals. Practitioners note that 3-year tenures have accelerated some decision-making but also increased turnover.

Call to action

For drafting RTIs or appeals engaging this section, use the First RTI template or the First Appeal template. See How to fill an RTI application for structural help.

FAQs

Why does the term matter to an appellant?

Shorter tenures rotate benches faster; a three-year term means the Commission that decides your second appeal may look very different by the time it is heard.

Can a CIC be reappointed?

§13(1) as substituted bars reappointment for the Chief; the aggregate five-year cap for an IC elevated to CIC survives in the provisos to §13(2).

Who fixes the pay now?

The Central Government by rules — ₹2,50,000 (CIC) and ₹2,25,000 (IC) per month under the 2019 Rules; Parliament no longer fixes it in the statute.

Sources

  1. Right to Information Act, 2005, Section 13 (as substituted by Act 24 of 2019).
  2. RTI (Term of Office, Salaries, Allowances and Other Terms and Conditions of Service) Rules, 2019 — see PRS India's analysis.
  3. Anjali Bhardwaj v. Union of India, 15 February 2019.
  4. Department of Personnel and Training, Guide on the RTI Act, 2005.

Last reviewed on: 27 August 2026. Template description rebuilt; the fabricated “(2020) 11 SCC 345” citation removed and replaced with the verified WP 436/2019 vacancies decision; 2019 Rules term and pay verified (three years; Rs 2,50,000 / Rs 2,25,000); FAQ added.

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