Section 22 — Act to Have Overriding Effect

• 'Notwithstanding anything inconsistent therewith contained in the Official Secrets Act, 1923…'
• Also overrides the Indian Evidence Act 1872 Section 123 (state privilege), service rules, and any executive instructions.
• Constitutional provisions and statutes expressly carved out (like RTI Act exemptions themselves) apply.

No amendments.

• RBI v. Jayantilal N. Mistry, (2016) 3 SCC 525 — Section 22 overrides RBI Act confidentiality of bank inspection reports.
• Follow-through — after Mistry, a department cannot resist disclosure by pointing to confidentiality marked under its own instructions; the inconsistent clause is inoperative to that extent.
• Multiple CIC decisions — Section 22 overrides confidentiality marks put by departments themselves.

When a PIO cites an older law or an internal circular, respond: 'Section 22 of the RTI Act has overriding effect and renders that provision inoperative to the extent of inconsistency.' Cite RBI v. Jayantilal.

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.

• A PIO refused my request citing the Official Secrets Act. What do I do? Quote Section 22 in your first appeal: the RTI Act has effect notwithstanding anything inconsistent in the OSA 1923, so the PIO must show the record falls inside a Section 8 exemption — not merely that a secrecy law exists.
• Does Section 22 override everything? No. It cannot pull out information the RTI Act itself exempts (Sections 8 and 9), and constitutional provisions stand outside it. It overrides inconsistent *ordinary* law, rules and executive instructions.
• Is the Official Secrets Act dead? No. It continues to apply where the RTI Act does not reach. Section 22 only makes it inoperative to the extent it conflicts with a disclosure right under the RTI Act.

• Back to the full RTI Act
• Section 6 — Request for information
• Section 7 — Disposal
• Section 8 — Exemptions
• Section 19 — Appeals
• All explanations
• Landmark RTI decisions
• The RTI Playbook book

1. Right to Information Act, 2005, Section 22.
2. RTI (Amendment) Act, 2019 (where applicable).
3. DPDP Rules, 2025, notified 14 November 2025 (where applicable).
4. Department of Personnel and Training, Guide on the RTI Act, 2005.

Last reviewed on: 27 August 2026