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Contents

RIGHT TO INFORMATION: AN OVERVIEW ....................................................................... 2

PROCEDURE FOR FILING AN RTI ........................................................................................ 2
1. IDENTIFY WHAT DEPARTMENT YOU WANT INFORMATION FROM .................. 2
2. PREPARING THE RTI ....................................................................................................... 2
3. ADDRESSING THE RTI.................................................................................................... 2
4. FRAMING THE RTI APPLICATION ............................................................................... 3
5. PAYING THE FEE ............................................................................................................. 3
6. CONTACT DETAILS ......................................................................................................... 3
7. HANDING IT OVER .......................................................................................................... 3
8. RESPONSE TO YOUR RTI ............................................................................................... 3
WHAT TYPE OF INFORMATION ARE YOU NOT ABLE TO ACCESS? ........................... 4
ONLINE RTI FORM FILING PROCEDURE ........................................................................... 7
STEPS TO FILE RTI ONLINE .................................................................................................. 8

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Right to Information: An Overview

The Right To Information Act (RTI) stands among the most versatile acts of the Indian
Parliament. The RTI is one of the few fundamental rights an Indian citizen holds which
gives him the power to know how the tax payers’ money is being utilized by the
government. The primary objective of the RTI Act is to empower the citizens of India,
provide transparency and above all, make the government accountable to its people. This
act mandates that a timely response must be given which makes it the most powerful
fundamental right in our country. There are few prime things one has to know about the
RTI.

 Every citizen, irrespective of caste, creed and gender maintains the right to claim
information from the government authorities.
 The RTI Act applies to the whole of India, except Jammu & Kashmir.
 Except for matters relating to national security, personal information and third party
information, information about everything else can be accessed through the RTI.
 In case an RTI does not receive a response in a timely manner, the Indian
Government can impose a fine of upto INR 25,000 or recommend disciplinary
proceedings against the official guilty of failing to respond to the RTI.

PROCEDURE FOR FILING AN RTI

Being classified as a fundamental act, the procedure to file an RTI has been kept quite
simple making it easy for our citizens to file one without much ado. Here are the steps
involved in filing an RTI.

1. IDENTIFY WHAT DEPARTMENT YOU WANT INFORMATION FROM

The subject you have in mind may fall under the State Government, Central Government
or a local Municipality. Please keep in mind that if it is a matter that requires discretion,
you may not get access to it.

2. PREPARING THE RTI

Draft your RTI on a plain white sheet of paper. It can either be written or typed in Hindi,
English or any other local language used in your region. If it is handwritten, please make
sure the text is clearly visible and does not lead to any confusions.

3. ADDRESSING THE RTI

Your RTI must be addressed to the State/Central Public Information Officer. Write the
name of the department from which you wish to obtain information. You are required to
clearly mention that you seek information “under the RTI Act, 2005”.
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4. FRAMING THE RTI APPLICATION

The questions you wish to get answers for must be clearly written out. Make your
questions as detailed as possible. It would be ideal if you mention the year or the period
in which your request falls under. You are also permitted to ask for relevant documents
or excerpts from documents. However, this requires an additional fee or INR 2/- per
document.

5. PAYING THE FEE

As of now, the fee for filing an RTI is fixed at INR 10/-. This payment can be made in cash,
bank draft, money order or court fee Stamp. Such a stamp must be placed on the
application. The fee is not applicable to individuals falling under the BPL (Below Poverty
Line) category. For them, there is no fee. A copy of the BPL certificate must be attached
to the application to receive this concession.

6. CONTACT DETAILS
As the RTI is an Act which calls for a response, do not forget to mention your contact
details including your full name, permanent address, phone number and email address.
Place your signature, date and place at the bottom.

7. HANDING IT OVER
It is highly recommended that you keep a photocopy of the RTI you prepared for future
references. Once you have the RTI ready and a copy kept away safely, you can post your
RTI via mail or hand it over to the appropriate department in person.

8. RESPONSE TO YOUR RTI

The law mandates that a response to an RTI must be given in no less than 30 days or 48
hours if it concerns an individual’s freedom/life. Should you not receive a reply to your
RTI, there is an appellate structure in place to help you speed up things. Your first appeal
should be placed to the Appellate Authority. The Appellate Authority is mandated by law
to respond within 30 days. Should the Appellate Authority fail to provide you with a reply,
waste no time contemplating further. Write to the Chief Information Commissioner or the
Central/State Information Commission.

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What type of information are you not able to access?

The right to information is not absolute. Not all information that the Government generates
will or should be given out to the public. Everyone would there are some pieces of
information, which are so sensitive that if they were released to the public, they might
actually cause serious harm to more important interests.

For example, at a time of conflict, if someone wanted to know how many troops were being
deployed and where they were being sent, the Government might legitimately want to keep
these details secret because if this information fell into the wrong hands, it could pose a
great risk to the national security of India. Nevertheless, if someone requested the same
information two years after the war, it would be less clear that the information should be
kept secret because the likelihood of harm being caused by disclosure would probably be
less.

The key issue is that information can legitimately be kept secret in some circumstances,
but only where disclosure would be likely to cause serious harm to specific, important public
interests. All right to information laws include provisions that allow certain types of
information to be withheld from the public. These provisions are commonly called
"exemption provisions" or "exclusion clauses".

Unfortunately, although exemption provisions can serve a useful function, experience has
shown that they are often abused by officials who are determined to keep their actions
hidden from the public. This is not acceptable. Information should not be withheld just
because it 'embarrasses' the government, or because it will get officials into trouble.
Recognising that exemption clauses are often misapplied to protect government interests,
it is important that you have a good understanding of the exemptions provisions that might
apply to your application so that you can check to see if they have been properly applied.

All of India's right to information laws contained exemptions provisions. In the Central
Act, section 8(1) lists all of the exemptions. Below is a general discussion of the exemption
provisions:

 National Security or Sovereignty: As explained above, there is some information,

which relates to India's national security, which could genuinely cause harm if it was
released to the public. For example, information published during a conflict, detailing
the number of soldiers defending a boundary, where they were positioned or their
strategic plans. However, it would not be appropriate to use this exemption simply to
keep a contract for the purchase of an air force fighter jet secret. This is common
commercial information which should be made public to reduce the likelihood of
corruption tainting the procurement process, and should not be withheld simply
because it relates to defence.

 National Economic Interests: Disclosure of information about currency or exchange

rates, interest rates, taxes, the regulation or supervision of banking, insurance and
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other financial institutions, proposals for expenditure or borrowing and foreign
investment could in some cases harm the national economy, particularly if released
prematurely. However, lower level economic and financial information, like contracts
and departmental budgets should not be withheld under this exemption.

 Relations with Foreign States: The relationship between countries can often be
sensitive, such that candid assessments and analysis of other countries' behaviour
and policies could easily offend and in so doing, damage India's own international
interests. However, this exemption should not be used simply to hide political deals
between players, which are not in the public interest and can never justify non-
disclosure of information which discloses a breach of national law.

 Law Enforcement and the Judicial Process: While an investigation is underway,

there may be information which needs to be protected, for example, witnesses
identities or the case being put together against a suspect. If released, the case could
be jeopardized. Likewise, while a case is underway, information may need to be kept
secret. Notably, the discussions between a lawyer and their client will almost always
be kept secret, even if the lawyer is the Attorney-General and the client is the
Government. These exemptions should not be used though, to protect police and
judicial officers from having their own conduct scrutinized, particularly if a victim is
seeking information about whether their case is being/has been properly handled.

 Cabinet and Other Decision-Making Documents: Cabinet papers, including

records of deliberations of the Council of Ministers, Secretaries and other offices, are
excluded, but once a decision is made, the reasons for the decisions and the
documents which were used to make the decision should then be disclosed to the
public. This is important because it means that during the decision-making process
there is a level of confidentiality, but once a decision is made the public has a right to
access relevant information so that they can better understand the policy-making
process.

 Trade Secrets and Commercial Confidentiality: Some information held by many

private companies should be open to the public, for example, where that information
relates to the provision of a public service or is necessary for the exercise or protection
of a right. However, it is already recognised in law that companies should be able to
protect their trade secrets. Care should also be taken to minimize the harm caused to
a company's competitive commercial interests when disclosing information, for
example, by not publishing tender submissions during a tender process. However,

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this exemption should not be used to block the release of contracts with private bodies
who are providing public services.

 Individual Safety: Obviously, information should not be disclosure where publication

would be likely to put an individual's safety or liberty at risk. For example, the identity
of people who "blow the whistle" on corruption inside their organisation should be
protected, because otherwise they may be targeted for discrimination or even
violence.

 Personal Privacy: There is considerable information about individuals which is held

by the government. The right to privacy requires that the government should try to
protect this information from public disclosure, unless there is some overriding need
for it to be disclosed. For example, my next door neighbour should not be able to
access my medical records just because they are held by a government hospital.
Notably though, public officials should not be able to use this exemption to protect
their own conduct in their official capacity from scrutiny. Thus, information about public
service transfers and appointments can be disclosed.

It is extremely positive that the Central Act makes all of the exemptions contained in
section 8(1) subject to a "Public Interest Override" (see section 8(2) of the Central Act).
What this means is that even where requested information is covered by an exemption,
the information should still be disclosed to the applicant if the public interest in the specific
case requires it. When applying this test, three questions should be asked by officials:

1. Is the information covered by a legitimate exemption? - the PIO should tell you in the
notice responding to your application what the exemption is.
2. Will disclosure cause substantial harm?
3. Is the likely harm greater than the public interest in disclosure?

If you believe that this questions have not been properly considered by the PIO, you could
consider appealing the decision of the PIO if they decide to refuse your request.

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Online RTI Form Filing Procedure

The Federal Government of India has now begun accepting requests online as per a
freedom of information law. However, the online service does not take into consideration
the ministries or the state governments.

RTI Application Form

The RTI application form is quite straightforward where applicants simply need to provide
contact information as well as few personal details like gender or their literacy or whether
they are below or above the poverty line. After that, there is a box for typing out the request
regarding type of information wanted.

RTI application form may be filed only by the citizens of India as is mentioned in the form
in red according to 2005 Act. It has been found that sometimes the form seems confusing
as there is lack of explicit instructions written and available which confuses many people
and to even those who have designed this online portal.

What can be filed for?

When one files RTI application form, he is authorized to ask questions to the government.
There are several kinds of applications handled like passport delays, Life insurance, PF
related, Land and Property, Defense forces, Central and state exams, State and Central
banks etc.

Filing and Processing

The online RTI form filing procedure has been made easy and one can the details and
his query and the rest is done on its own. There is a process for scrutinizing the request
by the team drafted and if they are satisfied then the end product is posted to the
designated address.

Tracking
The personal tracking number is provided to the applicant in order to know his location of
delivery. This tracking process is easy to use and is hassle free. Online RTI takes into
consideration the satisfaction of the applicant and is given first preference.

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Steps to File RTI Online

The following steps will tell you how to file RTI plea online in just few minutes This guide
focuses on sending an RTI application to Central government bodies. Not all state
government bodies let you file an RTI application online yet - on most of the state's sites,
you can just download the forms.

Here's how to file the application with the Central Government.

1. Go to the RTI website (www.rtionline.gov.in) and click on Submit Request.

Alternatively, click to go to the RTI application page, here.

2. Check I have read and understood the above guidelines and click Submit.

You can now begin filling in the form for submitting an RTI application. Pick the correct
Ministry and department and fill in your contact details. You have to enter your email id to
complete the application, but if you want SMS alerts about the status of your application,
then you can also enter your mobile phone number.

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If you don't know the public authority to file your application with, use the search bar on
top - it will help choose the ministry/ department and public authority.

3. You have to fill the entire form - so for example, even if you are not below the poverty
line, you need to choose the correct option from the drop down menu. Click the menu,
and select No (or Yes, if applicable - this waives the fee for submitting the plea).

4. Next to Text for RTI Request application, you can write your RTI request. This form
limits you to 3,000 characters.

5. If your request exceeds 3,000 characters, or if you need to submit documents to

support the application, click Choose File next to Supporting document. You can
upload a pdf file up to 1MB in size with your plea.

6. Enter the characters in the image next to Enter security code.

7. Click Submit.

8. The fee for submitting an RTI application is Rs.10/-, You can pay that via credit/debit
card or net banking on the next page.

9. Once you've paid, you will be shown an acknowledgement with a unique registration
number for your RTI plea. This will be sent to you via SMS and email as well.

10. You can check the status of your RTI application on this page
(rtionline.gov.in/request/status.php).

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