• §2(h) — public authority. CIC Full Bench (3 June 2013) held six national parties are public authorities via substantial indirect financing.
• §4(1)(b) — proactive disclosure of organisational structure, budgets, beneficiary lists.
• §8(1)(j) — voter / donor personal data.
• §8(1)(a) — election-security aspects.
• Article 19(1)(a) — voter's right to information (ADR line, culminating in Electoral Bonds 2024).
• Representation of People Act, 1951 + 1950 — statutory regime on affidavits and rolls.

On 3 June 2013 (CIC/SM/C/2011/001386 and connected), a Full Bench held the following national political parties to be public authorities:

• Indian National Congress (INC)
• Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
• Communist Party of India (CPI)
• Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M))
• Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) — status evolved post-split
• Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)

Parties have not uniformly complied with PIO appointment. Applicants file RTIs citing the 2013 order; most end up at CIC Second Appeal. The order remains citable; compliance is a continuing litigation question.

1. Step 1. Identify the public authority — EC of India, State CEO, District Election Officer, ERO, or a political party (CIC 2013 list).
2. Step 2. Classify the information — voter-level personal, institutional, or candidate-level (public).
3. Step 3. Check §4 proactive-disclosure obligation — many EC records are online via voters.eci.gov.in.
4. Step 4. §8(1)(j) for individual-voter data; §8(1)(a) for security; §8(2) balancing for politically-sensitive records.
5. Step 5. For political-party RTI, cite CIC 2013 order; if the party refuses, the remedy is Second Appeal + writ.
6. Step 6. Speaking reply; cite ADR v. UoI (2002/2024) for public-right-to-know cases.

The RTI seeks the category-wise voter count for AC [number, name] as on DD-MM-YYYY. This is institutional information available under §4(1)(b).

Enclosed at Annexure A:
- Total voters by category (SC / ST / General / EWS / PwD)
- Age-band distribution (18-25, 25-40, 40-60, 60+)
- Gender distribution

Individual voter records (name, address, Aadhaar) have been redacted under §10 + §8(1)(j).

First-appeal rights preserved.

The RTI seeks the affidavit of Shri X, candidate for the [constituency] election held on DD-MM-YYYY. Candidate affidavits are public documents filed under the Representation of People Act, 1951 and published by the Election Commission.

Certified copy enclosed at Annexure A. The affidavit is also available on ''eci.gov.in'' at [URL].

No fee is chargeable for information already in the public domain.

• Own voter ID status. Disclose; see voter ID delay citizen guide.
• ERO's action on Form 8 correction. Disclose.
• BLO house-visit register for my address. Disclose to the resident.
• Third-party voter's record. Exempt — §8(1)(j).
• Electoral Bonds data. Post-2024 SC ruling, SBI / EC-held data largely disclosed; continuing RTIs seek specific beneficiary-donor mapping.
• Political party donation list. The 2013 CIC Full Bench applies to the listed six parties; compliance contested.
• EVM integrity protocols. Partial — institutional framework yes; operational security details §8(1)(a).

• CIC Full Bench 3 June 2013 — six national parties are public authorities.
• ADR v. UoI (Electoral Bonds 2024) — voter's right to know political funding; scheme unconstitutional.
• ADR v. UoI (2002) — foundational right to know candidate background.
• UoI v. ADR line — RTI flows from Article 19(1)(a).

• Treating all election-related information as security-sensitive.
• Releasing individual voter records in aggregate tables.
• Denying candidate affidavits — they are public.
• Not citing the CIC 2013 Full Bench when replying for a political-party-related matter.
• Failing to proactively publish under §4(1)(b).

• Proactive publishing on eci.gov.in / state CEO portals reduces RTI load.
• Standard redaction template for voter personal data.
• BLO training on disclosure of house-visit registers.
• Coordinate with the political-party PIOs (where designated) for cross-authority RTIs.

Q1. Can I RTI a political party directly?
For the six parties named in the 2013 CIC order — yes. They are public authorities. Compliance has been uneven.

Q2. Is the voter-roll a public record?
Institutional (count, category) — yes. Individual entries — §8(1)(j).

Q3. Are candidate affidavits public?
Yes — statutorily required and published by EC.

Q4. Can I access Electoral Bonds donor-recipient mapping?
Post-SC ruling (2024), SBI released the data to EC; the EC published it. Ongoing RTIs seek specific reconciliations.

Election-sector RTIs carry constitutional weight. Voter-roll privacy balanced against voter right-to-know creates one of the most principled exercises in the RTI regime. Apply §4 proactively, §8(1)(j) carefully, and §4 + §19 + Article 19(1)(a) firmly.

• Voter ID delay — citizen side
• 10 landmark CIC decisions (political parties + Electoral Bonds)
• 10 landmark SC rulings
• PIO & FAA knowledge base

• RTI Act, 2005, §§2(h), 4, 8(1)(a), 8(1)(j), 19, 22
• Representation of People Act, 1951, 1950
• CIC Full Bench 3 June 2013 (political parties)
• ADR v. UoI (Electoral Bonds, 2024)

Last reviewed: 21 April 2026.