The RTI Act, 2005 is a single statute — but its implementation is 29 systems, one Central and 28 state. Each system receives applications, denies some, resolves others, and accumulates its own backlog. The quality of citizen experience varies sharply between states.

State-level analysis matters to three audiences:

1. Citizens — know where your RTI is most likely to get a timely answer and what the expected wait is.
2. Activists and researchers — identify which states need structural reform.
3. Policymakers — use the gaps as a roadmap.

This article pulls together the most recent verified data to answer the core questions: which state files most, which is fastest, which rejects most, where appeals pile up, and where the backlog has reached crisis proportions.

• Highest RTI volume state (registered appeals + complaints, 2023–24): Maharashtra — 57,754.
• Fastest SIC (southern states, latest available 2022 data): Andhra Pradesh — 4 months to dispose.
• Slowest SIC (projected disposal time, 2023–24): West Bengal — 24 years 1 month.
• State with highest backlog (June 2024): Maharashtra — ~1,10,000 appeals.
• Largest penalty imposed (2023–24): Uttar Pradesh — Rs. 4.85 crore.
• Currently defunct SICs (as of 2024): Jharkhand, Telangana, Goa, Tripura.
• SICs without a Chief (as of 2024): Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Odisha.
• National rejection rate at central level (2024–25): down to 3.26% from 7.21% in 2013–14.

Three factors drive sharp inter-state variation:

1. Governance complexity. Industrialised, urbanised states (Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Delhi) have large citizen–state interfaces; RTI volumes rise.
2. Awareness. States with active civil society (Rajasthan, Delhi, Maharashtra, Kerala) produce more RTIs and more appeals.
3. Institutional health. A full-strength, adequately resourced Information Commission disposes quickly; vacancies and long appointment gaps cause pendency.

Read together, these factors explain why filing an RTI in Andhra Pradesh feels very different from filing one in West Bengal.

Exact state-by-state “applications received” data for 2023–24 is published with delay and varying completeness. The best proxy available is the Appeals + Complaints registered with the State Information Commission — a strong correlate of the underlying RTI volume.

Top SICs by appeals/complaints registered, July 2023 – June 2024:

(At the CIC, approx 29,000 second appeals were filed in 2024–25 for central-government matters.)

Why these states top the list.

• Maharashtra — largest industrial state, Mumbai metro financial centre, large panchayat + municipal network.
• Uttar Pradesh — largest state by population, largest land-records footprint, largest set of state PSUs.
• Karnataka — active civil society, dense Bengaluru urban administration, IT sector compliance queries.
• Bihar — high awareness through SNS / MKSS-style grassroots work; also returns a large number without orders (see section 4).
• Kerala — high literacy, strong civic engagement, but relatively smaller absolute volume.

Key longitudinal observations from the SNS Report Cards and CHRI analyses:

• Absolute volume rising. Central-level RTI applications rose from ~13 lakh in 2015–16 to 17.5 lakh in 2023–24. State-level volumes mirror this rise.
• Digital uptake accelerating. Since 2020, states that launched online filing portals (Maharashtra, Karnataka, Delhi, Gujarat, UP) have seen a 15–25% jump in annual filings.
• Behavioural pattern. Volume increases sharply around elections (voter-roll and candidate-affidavit queries) and scheme-notification cycles (PMAY, scholarships).
• Rejection rates trending down. At the central level, rejection rate fell from 7.21% (2013–14) to 3.26% (2024–25) — a sign that PIO training has improved, though SNS notes that many cases are now “returned without order” rather than formally rejected.

Disposal speed varies dramatically across SICs. The SNS 2023–24 Report Card calculates estimated disposal time using each SIC's monthly disposal rate and current backlog.

Fastest SICs (fastest published 2022 data for southern states):

Slowest SICs (projected 2023–24):

Key caveat. “Disposal time” is calculated mathematically — (pending / monthly disposal rate). A spike in disposal or a reduction in filing can change these projections quickly. But the directional gap — Andhra at 4 months, West Bengal at 24 years — is genuine and stark.

Why West Bengal takes so long. Low institutional capacity + periods of near-defunct functioning + commissioner vacancies. The 24-year projection means an RTI appeal filed in July 2023 would be disposed of — at the current monthly rate — only in 2047.

Why Andhra Pradesh is fastest. Small pendency base, full commissioner strength for most of the review period, and a high disposal rate relative to registrations.

At the central level, rejection rates have dropped — from 7.21% in 2013–14 to 3.26% in 2024–25. But SNS's analysis surfaces a more subtle pattern: many cases are returned without disposal at SICs, which does not count as a formal rejection but leaves the applicant without a remedy.

Top “return without order” rates (2023–24):

At central ministries — highest adjusted rejection rates:

• Ministry of Finance — ~24% (highest)
• Prime Minister's Office — ~12%
• Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas — ~11%
• Ministry of Home Affairs — ~13.33% (2024–25)

Why rejections happen (Section 8 exemption-wise, per SNS and CIC analyses):

1. Section 8(1)(j) — personal information / privacy: most common ground, especially after DPDP Rules, 2025.
2. Section 8(1)(e) — fiduciary (banking, CBI inputs).
3. Section 8(1)(a) — security / strategic.
4. Section 8(1)(h) — ongoing investigation.
5. Section 7(9) — disproportionate diversion of resources.

What applicants can control.

• File single-subject RTIs.
• Quote reference numbers.
• Frame questions around records, not opinions.
• For privacy-adjacent asks, show clear public interest.

Detailed subject-wise data is not published uniformly, but SNS's and CHRI's analyses indicate the following broad pattern:

• Personal information (attendance, service records, transfers) — high rejection under Section 8(1)(j); confirmed by the Supreme Court in Girish Ramchandra Deshpande.
• Recruitment & exams — low rejection post CBSE v. Aditya Bandopadhyay, but interim secrecy during live exam cycles is upheld.
• Land / property records — medium rejection; often partial disclosure with redaction of co-owner details. Most state-level RTIs here are answered; questions on pending litigation are deflected.
• Policy / file notings — low rejection post-decision; high rejection while files are live.
• Financial records — split. Bank inspection reports disclosed after RBI v. Jayantilal Mistry; internal tax-assessment notings still heavily exempt.
• Police / investigation files — high rejection under Section 8(1)(h), modulated by the corruption / human-rights proviso of Section 24.

States with high subject-specific rejections. Maharashtra and Karnataka show higher Section 8(1)(j) rejections (service-record queries); Uttar Pradesh shows higher Section 7(9) returns (broad applications); Punjab and Haryana show high show-cause-notice-to-PIO counts (suggesting strong SIC enforcement rather than high rejection).

Top SICs by appeals + complaints registered in 2023–24:

Why appeals rise.

1. Dissatisfaction with PIO reply. The higher the state's RTI volume, the higher the absolute number of appeals.
2. Commissioner availability. Where the SIC is functioning, appellants pursue through the system; where defunct (Jharkhand, Telangana, Goa, Tripura), appeals do not get filed at all during defunct months.
3. Civic awareness. States with active RTI circles see better follow-through.

At the other end, low appeal volumes typically signal one of two things:

1. Institutional efficiency — first-level PIO replies are adequate, so citizens do not need to appeal. (Rare.)
2. Low awareness / access barriers — citizens do not know the appeal route, or the SIC is defunct.

Low-volume SICs in 2023–24 included Nagaland, Tripura, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Goa, and some UT commissions. The causes are a mix of small population base (North-eastern states) and institutional dysfunction (Tripura, Goa were defunct for periods in 2023–24).

A low number is not automatically “good” — the denominator matters.

This is the transparency crisis indicator. Backlog = (Registered – Disposed) accumulated over time.

Top SICs by backlog (pending appeals + complaints, June 2024):

Why the crisis is deepening.

• Vacancies. Five SICs (Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Odisha) have no Chief Information Commissioner as of 2024.
• Defunct periods. Four commissions were defunct for part of 2023–24 (Jharkhand, Telangana, Goa, Tripura).
• Rising inflow. 2.31 lakh fresh appeals registered across 27 active SICs in 2023–24; 2.26 lakh disposed.
• Penalty under-use. In 95% of cases where a penalty could have been imposed on a defaulting PIO, no penalty was imposed, per SNS's analysis — weakening deterrence.

Governance implications. An SIC with multi-year pendency effectively nullifies the RTI Act's 30-day guarantee. Citizens who file today must wait 4–24 years for a Second Appeal decision. This is the single most urgent reform challenge in the RTI system.

State action on defaulting PIOs varies widely. SNS data for 2023–24:

Total penalties imposed (top-5 states):

Show-cause notices issued (top-3):

Reading the data. High penalty + high show-cause counts = an SIC that uses Section 20 vigorously. This correlates (though not perfectly) with faster disposal and better PIO behaviour.

• Filing in Andhra Pradesh, Nagaland, or states with active SICs. Expect a decision in months if you reach appeal stage.
• Filing in Maharashtra, Karnataka, UP, Bihar. First-level PIO reply remains the most important outcome — appeal timelines are long.
• Filing in West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Odisha. Invest heavily in the First Appeal to the FAA within the same department. Second Appeal timelines are effectively punitive.
• Filing in Jharkhand, Telangana, Goa, Tripura (during defunct periods). Pursue via RTI Online central route for central matters; for state matters, file and preserve the receipt — you will have to wait for the Commission to resume.

Universal tips.

1. Quote file / reference numbers.
2. One subject per application.
3. Ask for records, not opinions.
4. Use First Appeal aggressively — it is free and resolves many cases.
5. Invoke the 30-day reply statutory deadline and Section 4 proactive-disclosure argument.

For a practical filing walk-through, see our 12-step guide, and the RTI Mastery pillar.

• SIC institutional health is the single biggest lever. More than the Act's drafting or even the DPDP Rules, 2025, the bottleneck is SIC capacity.
• Vacancy and appointment delays are the proximate cause. The 2019 amendment altered tenure and status; Anjali Bharadwaj's PIL before the Supreme Court has repeatedly flagged vacancy at SICs. The Court's February 2025 direction required prompt appointments — compliance has been uneven.
• Penalty under-use erodes deterrence. If 95% of penalty-eligible cases attract no penalty, PIOs face weak incentive to comply.
• Return-without-order is the new rejection. The formal rejection rate falling is partly because SICs now dispose by returning — which SNS flags as a hidden dismissal.
• Southern states outperform — mostly. Andhra Pradesh, Telangana (when functional), Karnataka's PIO penalty activity point to a South-leaning institutional story, though Karnataka's own backlog is large.

• Self-reporting. Each SIC reports to its state government and to SNS; independent audits find gaps.
• Non-uniform definitions. Some SICs report “cases registered”; others “appeals registered” + “complaints registered” separately. Apples-and-oranges risk exists.
• Disposal-time projections. “Estimated disposal time” is a mathematical projection from current pendency + monthly disposal rate — it assumes no change in inflow or capacity. A new Commissioner can change the projection overnight.
• Return vs rejection. SNS's analysis indicates “return without order” is counted separately from rejection — but functionally, it denies the applicant a remedy.
• Latency. SIC annual reports take 6–18 months to publish. The most recent full SNS report is 2023–24.

Treat the numbers in this article as directional, not as precision statistics.

Q1. Which state files the most RTI applications in India?
Maharashtra, consistently — it registered 57,754 appeals and complaints with its SIC in 2023–24, the highest in India. This is a proxy for the underlying application volume.

Q2. Which state is fastest in RTI reply?
Andhra Pradesh SIC leads the southern-states comparison, with an estimated 4-month disposal time for Second Appeals / complaints (2022 data). At the First-Appeal level, states with active PIOs (Andhra, Punjab, Delhi for central matters) tend to be faster.

Q3. Why do RTI applications get rejected?
Leading grounds are Section 8(1)(j) (personal information), Section 8(1)(e) (fiduciary), Section 7(9) (disproportionate diversion), Section 8(1)(a) (security), and Section 8(1)(h) (investigation). Many “rejections” are in fact procedural returns under Section 7(9) for over-broad RTIs.

Q4. How can I avoid RTI rejection?
File one subject per application; quote reference numbers; ask for specific records; avoid opinion-style questions; check Section 4 (proactive disclosure) before filing; be prepared to cite CIC case law.

Q5. Which state has the biggest RTI backlog?
Maharashtra, with ~1,10,000 appeals pending at its SIC as of June 2024.

Q6. Which SIC would take longest to dispose my appeal today?
At current rates, the West Bengal SIC's projected disposal time is 24 years 1 month, followed by Chhattisgarh (5 years 2 months), Bihar (4 years 6 months), and Odisha (~4 years).

Q7. Is the rejection rate at the central level high?
No — it has fallen to 3.26% in 2024–25 from 7.21% in 2013–14. But SNS notes that central ministries differ: Finance (~24%) and PMO (~12%) have markedly higher rejection rates.

Q8. Where do I get primary data?
Satark Nagrik Sangathan — RTI Assessments, cic.gov.in/reports/annual-reports, and your state SIC's annual report at cic.gov.in/links-to-state-information-commissions.

The state-level story of RTI in India 2026 is a study in contrasts. A citizen in Andhra Pradesh and a citizen in West Bengal operate under the same Act — but face radically different realities. Some states dispose appeals in months; others will need decades at current rates.

This variation is not inevitable. It reflects choices: to keep Commissioner posts filled, to use Section 20 penalties where warranted, to publish Section 4 proactive disclosures faithfully, and to digitise filing. States that make these choices deliver transparency; states that delay them accumulate dysfunction.

For citizens, the practical takeaway is straightforward: know your state's Commission profile before filing, choose the correct authority, file precisely, and escalate confidently — because the data shows that where citizens persist, the system responds.

• How to file RTI in India — 12-step guide
• RTI for beginners
• Why RTI gets rejected
• First Appeal — Section 19(1)
• Second Appeal — CIC/SIC
• 10 landmark CIC decisions
• Top 20 ministries by RTI volume
• State RTI portals — detailed directory
• Pillar — RTI Mastery

• Satark Nagrik Sangathan — Report Card on the Performance of Information Commissions in India, 2023–24: snsindia.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/RC2024.pdf
• Satark Nagrik Sangathan — Report Card 2022–23: snsindia.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Report-Card-Key-findings-2023-FINAL.pdf
• Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative — analyses of CIC Annual Reports at humanrightsinitiative.org
• Central Information Commission — Annual Reports 2021–22 through 2024–25 at cic.gov.in/reports/annual-reports
• Sabrang India — Major need for reform in information commissions: RTI report card on the performance, 2023–24: sabrangindia.in/major-need-for-reform-in-information-commissions-rti-report-card-on-the-performance-2023-24/
• Deccan Herald — Over 4 lakh complaints and appeals pending before Information Commissions: deccanherald.com/india/over-4-lakh-complaints-and-appeals-pending-before-information-commissions-karnataka-alone-has-pendency-of-over-50000-cases-3228800
• The South First — Kerala takes longest, Andhra shortest, to dispose RTI appeals: thesouthfirst.com/news/kerala-information-commission-takes-longest-time-and-andhra-shortest-to-dispose-of-rti-appeals-and-complaints/
• Indian Masterminds — Rejection rate drops to 3.26% in 2024–25: indianmasterminds.com/news/rti-rejection-rate-drops-3-26-percent-29000-appeals-pending-184671/
• DevDiscourse — Over 17.5 lakh RTI applications filed during 2023–24: devdiscourse.com/article/technology/3719470-over-175-lakh-rti-applications-filed-during-2023-24-centre
• National Herald — 3.14 lakh RTI appeals pending in 26 information commissions: nationalheraldindia.com/india/314-lakh-rti-appeals-and-complaints-pending-in-26-information-commissions-across-india
• The Wire — Short-staffed, defunct and headless: How Information Commissions performed in 2024–25: m.thewire.in/article/rights/short-staffed-defunct-and-headless-how-information-commissions-performed-in-2024-25
• Right to Information Act, 2005, as amended, and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (Section 44(3))

Last reviewed: 21 April 2026. Figures are drawn from SNS Report Card 2023–24, CIC Annual Reports, and independent analyses by CHRI. Readers are advised to cross-verify with primary sources for formal citation. Data is directional, not precision-statistical, given well-documented self-reporting caveats.