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+====== Landmark RTI Rulings, 2021 to 2026 ======
+{{htmlmetatags>metatag-keywords=(RTI landmark cases 2021-2026, Supreme Court RTI 2024, High Court RTI rulings 2024, Electoral Bonds RTI, Delhi HC PhD theses RTI, Madras HC public servants assets, Puttaswamy RTI, Anjali Bhardwaj, rti right to information india)
+metatag-description=(A curated list of the most significant Supreme Court and High Court rulings on the Right to Information Act between 2021 and April 2026. Includes Electoral Bonds, Delhi HC PhD theses, and the DPDP-era post-2025 position.)}}
+{{page>snippets:dpdp-banner}}
+<WRAP center round didyouknow 95%>
+**Did you know?** The single most consequential legislative change to the RTI Act between 2021 and 2026 was not a judgment but the **14 November 2025 DPDP Rules substitution of Section 8(1)(j)**. Every post-2025 ruling has to be read against that statutory re-shaping.
+</WRAP>
+<WRAP center round info 95%>
+**In one line.** Seven developments between 2021 and April 2026 have done most of the work in re-shaping the RTI regime — two legislative and five judicial. The legislative changes are the **RTI Amendment Act, 2019** (operational since 24 October 2019) and the **DPDP Rules, 2025** (notified 14 November 2025). The judicial developments are listed below.
+**What that means in practice.**
+  * The **substantive right** under Section 3 of the Act is undisturbed.
+  * The **administration** (tenure, salaries) is under Central Government rule-making since 2019.
+  * The **personal-information** exemption under Section 8(1)(j) is tighter since November 2025.
+  * The **public-interest** override under Section 8(2) is unchanged and still decisive.
+</WRAP>
+//A curated list of the most significant Supreme Court and High Court rulings on the RTI Act between 2021 and April 2026. Each entry carries the citation, the holding in one sentence, and the section of the Act it engages. For the full practitioner-level analysis of each case, follow the internal link.//
+===== Supreme Court =====
+==== 1. Association for Democratic Reforms v. Union of India (Electoral Bonds) — 2024 ====
+**Citation:** //ADR v. Union of India//, W.P. (C) 880 of 2017 and connected matters, Supreme Court of India, **15 February 2024**. Five-judge Constitution Bench.
+**Holding in one line.** The Electoral Bonds Scheme, 2018 was struck down as unconstitutional; the voter's right to know the source of political funding is a fundamental right under Article 19(1)(a) that cannot be abridged on the ground of donor privacy.
+**Why it matters for RTI.** It is the clearest post-2020 statement from the Supreme Court that **informational transparency is an Article 19(1)(a) freedom** — the constitutional anchor on which the RTI Act itself sits. See [[important-decisions:electoral-bonds-adr-2024|the full case page]].
+**Section engaged.** RTI Act Section 3 (animating right); Constitution Article 19(1)(a).
+==== 2. Anjali Bhardwaj v. Union of India — ongoing from 2019 ====
+**Citation:** //Anjali Bhardwaj and Ors. v. Union of India//, W.P. (C) 436 of 2018 (Supreme Court of India), with subsequent directions through 2021 and later.
+**Holding in one line.** The Court declined to strike down the RTI Amendment Act, 2019 but issued detailed directions on **transparent appointment processes** at the Central and State Information Commissions — publication of the composition of the Selection Committee, reasons for selection, timelines for filling vacancies.
+**Why it matters.** The //Anjali Bhardwaj// directions have become the operative framework for every RTI Commissioner appointment through 2026. Non-compliance by States produces periodic contempt-style listings.
+**Section engaged.** RTI Act Sections 12, 13, 15, 16 (constitution and appointment of the Commissions).
+==== 3. CPIO, Supreme Court of India v. Subhash Chandra Agarwal — Constitution Bench, 2020 ====
+**Citation:** //CPIO, Supreme Court of India v. Subhash Chandra Agarwal//, (2020) 5 SCC 481. Five-judge Constitution Bench. Reported in 2020; ruling delivered November 2019.
+**Holding in one line.** The **Office of the Chief Justice of India** is a "public authority" under Section 2(h) of the RTI Act, and therefore within the Act's disclosure obligations; but Section 8(1)(j) and the fiduciary-relationship clause apply to specific records.
+**Why it matters.** Read alongside //Electoral Bonds//, this is the Supreme Court accepting **institutional accountability** through the RTI regime, including for the higher judiciary itself. Though decided at the cusp of our 2021 window, its authority runs through the entire period.
+**Section engaged.** RTI Act Section 2(h), Section 8(1)(e), Section 8(1)(j).
+===== High Courts =====
+==== 4. Delhi High Court — PhD theses direction — December 2024 ====
+**Holding in one line.** %%PhD%% theses lodged with a central-university library are public records accessible under the RTI Act; Section 8(1)(j) must be read narrowly; severance under Section 10 is the answer where genuinely personal third-party data is embedded.
+**Why it matters.** The first High Court articulation of the principle for **academic research produced at publicly-funded universities**. The direction anchors future Commission orders on research, thesis access, and Shodhganga integration. Full practitioner note at [[blog:delhi-hc-phd-theses-rti-ruling-2024|the Delhi HC %%PhD%% theses analysis]].
+**Section engaged.** RTI Act Section 2(f), Section 8(1)(j), Section 10.
+==== 5. Madras High Court on public servants' assets — 2024 ====
+**Holding in one line.** **Annual Property Returns** filed by public servants in the ordinary course of duty are disclosable under the RTI Act where a **specific public interest** is pleaded under Section 8(2); family-member data is redacted under Section 10; the officer's own holdings are released.
+**Why it matters.** Reaffirms the [[important-decisions:court:girish-ramchandra-deshpande|//Girish Ramchandra Deshpande// (2013)]] line in a post-2020 privacy context. See [[important-decisions:court:madras-hc-public-servants-assets-2024|the full case page]].
+**Section engaged.** RTI Act Sections 8(1)(j), 8(2), 10.
+==== 6. Delhi High Court — //Arvind Kejriwal// line on political funding and RTI ====
+**Holding in one line.** Pre-dating the //Electoral Bonds// ruling, the Delhi HC established that political donations to parties recognised under the Representation of the People Act are subject to public-interest disclosure through the RTI regime for parties held as "public authorities" by the Central Information Commission.
+**Why it matters.** One of the building blocks the Supreme Court drew on in the 2024 //ADR// ruling. For the strand of political-funding transparency jurisprudence, see the [[important-decisions:electoral-bonds-adr-2024|Electoral Bonds analysis]].
+**Section engaged.** RTI Act Section 2(h); Representation of the People Act, 1951.
+===== Constitutional backdrop (2017) — still the controlling framework =====
+==== 7. Justice K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India — 2017 ====
+**Citation:** //Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) v. Union of India and Ors.//, (2017) 10 SCC 1. Nine-judge Constitution Bench.
+**Holding in one line.** Privacy is a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution of India, and every State infringement must pass a three-part **proportionality test** — legality, legitimate aim, proportionality (least restrictive alternative).
+**Why it matters.** Although decided in 2017, //Puttaswamy// is the analytical engine under which every **Section 8(1)(j) and Section 8(2) balancing** in the 2021-2026 window is now conducted. It is also the framework under which the DPDP Act, 2023 itself was drafted. See [[important-decisions:k-s-puttaswamy-vs-union-of-india|the full case page]].
+**Section engaged.** RTI Act Section 8(1)(j); Constitution Articles 19(1)(a), 21.
+===== Further developments to watch =====
+As of April 2026:
+  * **High Court writ challenges** to the DPDP substitution of Section 8(1)(j) are reported pending in the Delhi and Madras High Courts. None has resulted in a reported stay; the substitution operates as law.
+  * **CIC orders under the amended Section 8(1)(j)** are the working-level jurisprudence being built. Patterns are documented in [[blog:pio-reply-section-8-1-j-after-dpdp-2025|the PIO reply analysis]] and [[blog:dpdp-vs-rti-2026|the DPDP vs RTI 2026 position]].
+  * **Economic Survey 2025-26 RTI re-examination.** Reported proposals (ministerial review, deliberative-process exemption) have not become law. Watch the monsoon-session Lok Sabha calendar. See [[blog:economic-survey-2025-26-rti-reexamination|the Economic Survey analysis]].
+===== Related on this site =====
+  * [[:act|The RTI Act, 2005 — current text]].
+  * [[important-decisions:start|Case law library — full landmark index]].
+  * [[important-decisions:cbse-and-anr-vs-aditya-bandopadhyay|CBSE v. Aditya Bandopadhyay (2011)]] — the default-disclosure foundation.
+  * [[important-decisions:k-s-puttaswamy-vs-union-of-india|Puttaswamy (2017)]].
+  * [[important-decisions:electoral-bonds-adr-2024|Electoral Bonds (2024)]].
+  * [[blog:delhi-hc-phd-theses-rti-ruling-2024|Delhi HC %%PhD%% theses (2024)]].
+  * [[important-decisions:court:madras-hc-public-servants-assets-2024|Madras HC public servants' assets (2024)]].
+  * [[important-decisions:court:bhagat-singh-vs-cic|Bhagat Singh v. CIC (Delhi HC 2007)]].
+  * [[important-decisions:rbi-vs-jayantilal-mistry|RBI v. Jayantilal Mistry (2016)]].
+  * [[:explanations:commissioner-tenure-salaries|Information Commissioner tenure and salaries post-2019]].
+  * [[blog:dpdp-rules-2025-amendment-to-rti-act|DPDP Rules, 2025 amendment]].
+  * [[blog:dpdp-vs-rti-2026|DPDP Act vs RTI — 2026 position]].
+  * [[blog:rti-act-decade-of-change-2015-2025|A decade of change, 2015 to 2025]].
+===== Sources =====
+  - The Right to Information Act, 2005 (No. 22 of 2005).
+  - The Right to Information (Amendment) Act, 2019 (No. 24 of 2019).
+  - The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (No. 22 of 2023), Section 44(3).
+  - The Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, 2025, notified 14 November 2025.
+  - Constitution of India, Articles 19(1)(a) and 21.
+  - //Association for Democratic Reforms v. Union of India//, Supreme Court of India, 15 February 2024.
+  - //Anjali Bhardwaj and Ors. v. Union of India//, Supreme Court of India, ongoing through 2021-2026.
+  - //CPIO, Supreme Court of India v. Subhash Chandra Agarwal//, (2020) 5 SCC 481.
+  - //Justice K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India//, (2017) 10 SCC 1.
+  - Delhi High Court direction on RTI access to %%PhD%% theses, December 2024.
+  - Madras High Court order on RTI access to public servants' Annual Property Returns, 2024.
+  - //Reserve Bank of India v. Jayantilal N. Mistry//, (2016) 3 SCC 525.
+===== Last reviewed on =====
+April 2026. Watch Supreme Court and High Court cause-lists for the pending DPDP-substitution writ petitions.
+{{tag>rti landmark-rulings case-law 2021-2026 supreme-court high-court dpdp-2025 electoral-bonds}}

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