Section 28 — Power to Make Rules by Competent Authority

Section 28 of the RTI Act — Power to Make Rules by Competent Authority

Quick Reply: Section 28 lets the competent authority — Speaker, Chairman, Chief Justice or Governor — frame RTI rules for courts and legislatures. Here is what those rules cover.

In one line: Section 28 empowers the 'competent authority' (Speaker of Lok Sabha, Chairman of Rajya Sabha, CJI, Chief Justices of High Courts, Governors for certain bodies) to frame rules for RTI implementation within their own institution. Rules made under Section 28 cover Supreme Court administrative-side RTI, High Court RTI, and Legislature Secretariat RTI.

Key points

  • Competent authority defined in Section 2(e).
  • Rules cover fees, forms, appellate procedure.
  • Cannot override Sections 8/9 exemptions or Section 7(5) BPL waiver.
  • Must be laid before the appropriate House (Section 29).

Legislative history

No amendments.

Rulings and references

  • CPIO, Supreme Court v. Subhash Chandra Agarwal, (2020) 5 SCC 481 — the working of the Supreme Court's own RTI regime under the Chief Justice's rules came before the Constitution Bench.
  • High Court decisions — each HC has its own Section 28 rules.

Practical note

For RTIs to courts or legislatures, use the competent authority's own rules on fee and form. See the detailed competent-authority explainer.

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.

Frequently asked questions

  • Who is the 'competent authority'? Section 2(e): the Speaker (Lok Sabha) or Chairman (Rajya Sabha) for the legislature secretariats; the Chief Justice of India for the Supreme Court; the Chief Justice of each High Court for that court; the Governor or Administrator for State/UT legislature secretariats.
  • Do I use rtionline.gov.in for the Supreme Court? No. Courts and legislatures run their own RTI windows under their Section 28 rules — use the court's own RTI route; rtionline is for Central ministries and departments.
  • Can these rules restrict what the Act gives? No. Section 28 rules prescribe fees, forms and procedure. They cannot cut down the Act's rights — the 30-day clock, the appeals ladder and the exemptions list all come from the Act itself.

Sources

  1. Right to Information Act, 2005, Section 28.
  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

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