Can You File RTI to Lokayukta Police? Yes, SC Rules

Yes, you can file an RTI application to a Lokayukta or anti-corruption police body, and it must reply. The Supreme Court ruled on 15 June 2026 that such an investigating body is not an intelligence and security organisation, so it cannot hide behind the Section 24 exemption of the RTI Act, 2005. If a state told you its anti-corruption wing is exempt, that excuse no longer holds.

If you are short on time, read the corruption and human-rights proviso section below. It is your strongest lever even against a genuinely exempt body.

The case is Special Police Establishment v. Kamta Prasad Mishra, 2026 INSC 644, decided on 15 June 2026 by a two-judge bench of Justice J.K. Maheshwari and Justice Atul S. Chandurkar.

In 2011 the State of Madhya Pradesh issued a notification under Section 24(4) of the RTI Act. It exempted the Madhya Pradesh Special Police Establishment from the RTI Act. That body is the investigating wing of the Lokayukta organisation under the M.P. Lokayukt Evam Up-Lokayukt Adhiniyam, 1981.

A person caught in a corruption trap case asked for the file. He wanted to know how the Home Department decided to grant sanction to prosecute him under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. He also sought the Lokayukt's responses to queries.

The Court held that an anti-corruption or Lokayukta investigating police body is not an intelligence and security organisation within the meaning of Section 24. An exempt organisation must be one that deals with intelligence and security matters. An anti-corruption wing investigates graft. So the 2011 notification could not stand, and the body must respond to RTI requests.

Section 24 is narrow. It does not exempt every secretive office.

1. Section 24(1) exempts the intelligence and security organisations listed in the Second Schedule. These are central bodies like the Intelligence Bureau.
2. Section 24(2) lets the Central Government add or remove organisations from that Schedule.
3. Section 24(4) gives State Governments a parallel power to notify their own intelligence and security organisations as exempt.

The key word is intelligence and security. A body qualifies only if it is empowered to go into intelligence and security matters. An anti-corruption police wing does not pass that test, however sensitive its files feel. That is the heart of the 2026 ruling.

Even a genuinely exempt body cannot stonewall you on graft. The proviso to Section 24 says that information pertaining to allegations of corruption and human rights violations is not excluded from disclosure.

This matters in two ways.

First, if the body is not really an intelligence agency, the whole exemption falls. That is what happened to the MP anti-corruption wing in 2026.

Second, even where a body is correctly listed in the Schedule, your corruption-related request still gets through. So frame your application around the corruption angle. State plainly that you seek information pertaining to allegations of corruption.

For more on how RTI and Lokayukta powers fit together, see RTI vs Lokpal and Lokayukta.

1. Identify the Public Information Officer of the Lokayukta or anti-corruption body. Check the body's official website or call its office.
2. Write a short application under Section 6(1) of the RTI Act. List each point you want as a numbered query.
3. Pay the fee of 10 rupees. Use a postal order, demand draft, or the state RTI portal. People below the poverty line pay no fee.
4. Cite the 2026 ruling if the body claims it is exempt. Name Special Police Establishment v. Kamta Prasad Mishra, 2026 INSC 644.
5. Send it by registered post or the online portal and keep the receipt. The reply is due in 30 days.
6. If you get no reply or an evasive one, file a first appeal within 30 days of the deadline. After that, you can approach the State Information Commission.

You can draft the request in minutes with the AI RTI Drafter tool.

To,
The Public Information Officer
[Name of Lokayukta / Anti-Corruption Police Body]
[Address]

Subject: Request for information under Section 6(1) of the RTI Act, 2005

Sir/Madam,

Please provide the following information pertaining to
allegations of corruption in [case / file reference]:

1. Certified copies of the file notings on the decision to
   grant or refuse sanction for prosecution under the
   Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 in the above matter.

2. The dates on which the sanction request was received,
   processed, and decided.

3. Copies of the responses given by the Lokayukta to queries
   raised in the above matter.

Note: This information relates to allegations of corruption and
is therefore not excluded under Section 24 of the RTI Act, 2005.

I enclose the fee of Rs. 10. Kindly send the information within
30 days.

Name:
Address:
Date:
Signature:

No. The Supreme Court held in 2026 that an anti-corruption or Lokayukta investigating police body is not an intelligence and security organisation under Section 24. So it cannot claim the exemption. Quote Special Police Establishment v. Kamta Prasad Mishra, 2026 INSC 644, if it tries.

That notification is open to the same challenge that succeeded in 2026. The Court struck down the Madhya Pradesh notification because the body was not an intelligence and security organisation. Cite the ruling in your first appeal and ask the body to apply it.

Yes. The proviso to Section 24 says information pertaining to allegations of corruption and human rights violations is not excluded. So even a body correctly listed in the Second Schedule must disclose corruption-related information.

You can seek file notings, the sanction-for-prosecution process, dates of processing, and the body's responses to queries, where these relate to corruption. The applicant in the 2026 case sought exactly this kind of process information about a prosecution sanction.

The PIO must reply within 30 days of receiving your application. If your request involves the life or liberty of a person, the reply is due in 48 hours. No reply by the deadline counts as a deemed refusal you can appeal.

File a first appeal to the First Appellate Officer within 30 days of the missed deadline. If that fails, file a second appeal or complaint with the State Information Commission. Keep copies of your application and postal receipts as proof.

1. Special Police Establishment v. Kamta Prasad Mishra, 2026 INSC 644, Supreme Court of India, 15 June 2026. Read the judgment on Indian Kanoon
2. Section 24, Right to Information Act, 2005, including Sections 24(1), 24(2), 24(4) and the proviso on corruption and human rights violations.

1. How to file a Lokpal or Lokayukta complaint
2. RTI vs Lokpal and Lokayukta, which to use
3. The RTI Playbook
4. AI RTI Drafter tool

Filing RTI against Lokayukta and anti-corruption police is possible despite Section 24 exemptions. Here is the complete guide:

1. Step 1: What is Section 24? (a) Section 24 of the RTI Act lists organisations exempt from RTI (intelligence and security agencies — IB, RAW, CBI, NIA, etc.), (b) however, Section 24(1) provides that RTI applies to these organisations for allegations of corruption and human rights violations, © the information must be related to corruption or human rights — not general operational matters, (d) the CBI is listed in the Second Schedule (but anti-corruption cases are covered under the corruption exception).
2. Step 2: Lokayukta and RTI. (a) the Lokayukta is NOT listed in the Second Schedule (it is not an exempt organisation), (b) the Lokayukta is a public authority under RTI (it receives complaints of corruption against public servants), © the Lokayukta is bound to respond to RTI applications (like any other public authority), (d) however, the Lokayukta may deny information under Section 8(1)(h) (investigation in progress — if the information could impede an ongoing investigation).
3. Step 3: What can you ask? (a) the status of a complaint filed with the Lokayukta (complaint number, date, current status), (b) the action taken on the complaint (whether a preliminary inquiry was conducted, whether a chargesheet was filed), © the reasons for delay (if the complaint is pending for years), (d) the number of complaints received/disposed in a year (statistical information — not exempt), (e) the status of an anti-corruption police investigation (CBI/ACB — under the corruption exception of Section 24).
4. Step 4: What cannot be asked. (a) the identity of the complainant (protected under Section 8(1)(g) — could endanger the complainant), (b) the details of an ongoing investigation (Section 8(1)(h) — could impede the investigation), © the contents of a chargesheet before it is filed in court (Section 8(1)(h)), (d) cabinet papers (Section 8(1)(i) — until the decision is made public).
5. Step 5: How to file. (a) identify the correct PIO (the Lokayukta office has a designated PIO — check the Lokayukta website), (b) file the RTI application (Central: Rs 10 at rtionline.gov.in; State: check state RTI rules), © frame the questions carefully (ask for status and action taken — not for investigation details), (d) the PIO must respond within 30 days.
6. Step 6: If denied. (a) file First Appeal (if the PIO denies under Section 8(1)(h) — argue that the information is about corruption and the investigation is unreasonably delayed), (b) file Second Appeal with the Central/State Information Commission, © the Information Commission has consistently held that: (i) the status of a complaint is not exempt, (ii) unreasonable delay in investigation is not a valid ground for denial, (iii) the public has a right to know the outcome of anti-corruption investigations.
7. Step 7: Related remedies. (a) file a complaint with the Vigilance Commission (CVC for Central, State Vigilance Commission for State), (b) file a writ petition in the High Court (if the Lokayukta does not act on the complaint — the court can order the Lokayukta to complete the inquiry within a timeframe), © file a PIL (if the corruption is systemic — the court can order a broader investigation).

See Find PIO and Ministry Transparency Rank.