17 categories every public authority MUST publish suo motu (without an RTI request):

1. (i) particulars of organisation
2. (ii) powers + duties of officers + employees
3. (iii) decision-making procedure
4. (iv) norms for discharge of functions
5. (v) rules + regulations + manuals
6. (vi) categories of documents held
7. (vii) particulars of consultative bodies
8. (viii) directories of officers
9. (ix) salary scales
10. (x) budget
11. (xi) subsidy programmes
12. (xii) beneficiary lists [killer one]
13. (xiii) concessions, permits granted
14. (xiv) electronic records held
15. (xv) facilities for citizen info
16. (xvi) PIO names
17. (xvii) any other

Every public authority must publish lists of beneficiaries of programmes it administers. Almost no authority complies. That non-compliance is itself the story.

Campaign template:

1. File 1-question RTI: “Provide the §4(1)(b)(xii) beneficiary list for [scheme] for FY [year], as required by the RTI Act.”
2. PIO can't refuse — it's a mandatory disclosure.
3. PIO either provides (publishable) or refuses (which is itself a §20 penalty motion).

Build a §4 compliance scorecard for any authority:

1. Visit the authority's website.
2. For each of the 17 §4(1)(b) categories, mark: published / partial / missing / outdated.
3. Score out of 17.
4. Cross-link RTI for what's missing.

NGO Centre for Civil Society + Transparent Chennai have done this for ULBs — typical score is 6-8/17.

Distinct from §19 appeals — §18 is a complaint to the CIC/SIC about systemic non-compliance with §4 (or §6, §7). No fee. No 30-day limit.

Use §18 when:

1. Authority repeatedly fails to publish §4 disclosures
2. PIO is unidentifiable
3. There's no decision to appeal (because there's no acknowledged application)

§18 can result in CIC penalty under §20 against the authority's chief.

After CIC issues directions on §4 non-compliance, file a PIL in the relevant HC if compliance still doesn't follow. Major precedent: *DAV College Trust v. Director of Public Instructions* — schools must publish under §4 even though they're aided NGOs.

Quiz available from your course dashboard.

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Last reviewed: 24 April 2026.