Duplicate Mark-sheet RTI — issue of certified copy (2026)

Lost your degree certificate, applied for a duplicate, and the university has sat on the file for three months? One ₹10 RTI to the Controller of Examinations usually shakes the file loose within 30 days — every university is a public authority and your mark-sheet file is “information” under the law.

A duplicate mark-sheet RTI is an information request to a university or school board asking when your duplicate certificate — already applied for and paid for — will be issued. It does not seek re-evaluation. It asks for file status, the reason for delay, and the committed timeline.

• Public authority. State and central universities are public authorities under §2(h) of the RTI Act 2005 — created by statute and substantially financed by government funds. School boards like CBSE are squarely covered.
• Your records are “information”. In CBSE v. Aditya Bandopadhyay, (2011) 8 SCC 497, the Supreme Court held that evaluated answer books and exam records fall within §2(f), and an examining body's bye-laws cannot override the RTI Act. The line drawn: inspection and certified copies, not re-evaluation. Case note in our case-law database.
• Professional exams too. ICAI v. Shaunak H. Satya, (2011) 8 SCC 781 applied the same logic to professional-examination records.
• Fees. ₹10 for central authorities under the RTI (Regulation of Fee and Cost) Rules 2012; copies ₹2 per page. State universities follow state rules — see State-wise RTI fees.
• Deadlines. Reply in 30 days under §7(1); first appeal within 30 days under §19(1); second appeal within 90 days under §19(3).

1. Apply for the duplicate properly first — affidavit, FIR copy, newspaper notice and fee as the ordinance requires — and keep the acknowledgment number.
2. Wait out the committed timeline, then draft the RTI using the template below, addressed to the CPIO / Controller of Examinations of the university, not your college.
3. Pay the ₹10 fee — IPO or demand draft in the university's name, or online where offered; confirm the amount on State-wise RTI fees.
4. Send by speed post and keep the receipt. Diarise day 30 — no reply by then is deemed refusal under §7(1).
5. First appeal to the university's First Appellate Authority under §19(1) — the First Appeal Builder drafts it in five minutes.

• Still nothing? Second appeal to the Information Commission under §19(3) within 90 days. Track deadlines with the Timeline Tracker.

• Duplicate-certificate application copy with acknowledgment number and date
• Fee receipt for the duplicate (Delhi University's degree desk, for example: ₹500 within six years of your last exam, ₹1,000 after)
• FIR copy for the lost original, affidavit and indemnity bond
• Roll number, course, year of passing, one photo-ID
• ₹10 RTI fee instrument — IPO, DD or online receipt

• Filing to the college instead of the university. The degree-issuing university is the public authority under §2(h); a wrongly-addressed application burns five extra days in a §6(3) transfer.
• Asking for re-evaluation in the RTI. CBSE v. Aditya Bandopadhyay gives you copies and inspection — never fresh marking. Ask for status, not marks.
• Skipping the FIR and indemnity bond the ordinance requires — the reply will simply say the file is incomplete.
• One letter, five subjects. §6(1) wants a clear request; bundled queries invite a partial reply.
• Wrong fee mode. A state university may reject a central-style instrument; check State-wise RTI fees first.

To:
The Central Public Information Officer,
Office of the Controller of Examinations,
[University name, city, PIN].

Subject: Information under §6(1) of the RTI Act, 2005 —
duplicate mark-sheet / degree application status

Sir/Madam,

Kindly provide the following information under §6(1) of the
Right to Information Act, 2005:

1. Present status of my duplicate [mark-sheet / degree]
   application No. [NUMBER] dated [DATE], submitted by
   [NAME], Roll No. [ROLL], [DEGREE], year [YEAR].
2. Reason for delay beyond the timeline committed in the
   university's citizen charter / examination ordinance.
3. Date by which the duplicate will be issued and dispatched.
4. Name and designation of the officer holding the file, and
   noting on its movement in the last 30 days.
5. Copy of the citizen-charter timeline for duplicate issue.

I enclose the ₹10 fee by [IPO/DD no. ___]. Kindly send the
information within 30 days as required by §7(1) of the Act,
failing which I will prefer a first appeal under §19(1).

Yours faithfully,
[Name]
[Address, phone, email]
[Date]

Auto-fill this letter in the AI RTI Drafter; grade any reply with the PIO Reply Checker.

• Day 0 — application reaches the CPIO; the §7(1) 30-day clock starts.
• Day 30 — no reply = deemed refusal.
• Day 31 to 60 — first appeal to the First Appellate Authority under §19(1) (free under the Central RTI Rules 2012; some state rules charge).
• Within 90 days of the FAA order or expiry — second appeal under §19(3).
• In parallel — the Vice-Chancellor's student-grievance cell.

Most universities require an FIR copy or police acknowledgment, an affidavit and an indemnity bond before issuing a duplicate. The exact set is fixed by each ordinance — ask for it in point 5 of the template above.

Often yes. CBSE v. Aditya Bandopadhyay gives you inspection and certified copies of your own academic records at ₹2 per page under the Central rules. A fresh duplicate is still the right route for employer and visa submissions — RTI copies are CPIO-certified, not printed on security stationery.

Institutions substantially financed by government funds are public authorities under §2(h)(d). For a purely private institution, route the request through the affiliating public university or the state higher-education department, invoking §6(3) transfer.

It varies — Delhi University's Examination Wing charges ₹500 for a duplicate degree when your last exam was up to six years ago and ₹1,000 beyond that; other universities range from about ₹100 to ₹2,000. The RTI itself costs only ₹10.

Apply first through the board's own duplicate-issue process, then RTI to the board's CPIO with the same status questions. Boards are squarely covered by the CBSE v. Aditya Bandopadhyay ruling.

An RTI cannot command issuance, but it names the officer responsible. The Information Commission can recommend penalty of ₹250 per day up to ₹25,000 under §20(1) — usually all the pressure a stalled file needs.

• Degree verification RTI
• File RTI online — 12 steps
• RTI for NEET and JEE result anomalies
• CBSE v. Aditya Bandopadhyay — case note
• Sample RTI letters index
• Full RTI Playbook
• The RTI Playbook book — print and PDF

• RTI Act 2005 — full text (§2(f), §2(h), §6, §7, §19)
• CBSE v. Aditya Bandopadhyay, (2011) 8 SCC 497 — https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1519371/
• Delhi University Examination Wing — https://exam.du.ac.in/index.php?Services/Duplicate-Degree-Diploma-Certificate
• RTI Rules 2012 — https://dopt.gov.in/acts/rti-rules-2012-0
• State-wise RTI fees

Last reviewed: 27 August 2026. Verified academic-record disclosure rights against the Supreme Court judgment in CBSE v. Aditya Bandopadhyay (Indian Kanoon full text), duplicate-degree fees against Delhi University's Examination Wing portal (slab is by years since last exam, not document type), and RTI fees against the DoPT RTI Rules 2012 page.