CRACKTARGET • EXAM PRACTICE • 2026
RTI Act notes for DRDO SAO and EPFO, including key sections, deadlines, exemptions, case-law principles and the amended personal-information clause.
Current-law checkpoint: do not use an unamended RTI note
The DoPT consolidated Act reviewed for this guide is updated to 18 November 2025. It records substitution of section 8(1)(j), concerning personal information, with effect from 13 November 2025. Older notes reproducing the previous clause as current law are therefore unsafe for a 2026 current-law question. Section 8(2), the public-interest override, remains in the consolidated text. Study privacy and disclosure together rather than assuming either automatic disclosure or absolute secrecy.
The 2019 amendment also changed the statutory framework for the tenure and service conditions of Information Commissioners. Do not repeat the original five-year-tenure formulation as though the Act remained unchanged. Where a question asks about the original enactment, answer in that historical frame; where it asks the current position, read the amended Act and applicable rules. The date in a legal question can be decisive.
What the Act provides
The RTI Act gives citizens a statutory route to information held by or under the control of public authorities, subject to its provisions. Information is not limited to a polished report. It can include records, documents, emails, opinions and advice already on record, contracts and electronic material. Access may involve inspection, copies, extracts or certified samples. The Act supports transparency and accountability, but it does not require a public authority to invent an answer that does not exist in its records.
A public authority’s duties begin before an application arrives. Record management and proactive disclosure reduce the need for individual requests. An office that repeatedly cannot locate basic orders has an administrative problem as well as an RTI problem. For examination purposes, distinguish information access from grievance resolution: obtaining the record of a delayed benefit decision is not the same as securing approval of the benefit itself.
Key sections at a glance
| Section | Subject | Examination distinction |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Definitions | Information, record, public authority and right to information have specific statutory meanings. |
| 3 | Citizens’ right | The statutory right is conferred on citizens, subject to the Act. |
| 4 | Public-authority duties | Records and proactive disclosures support access without waiting for a request. |
| 5 | PIOs and assistance | Designated officers handle requests; assistance mechanisms have statutory consequences. |
| 6 | Request and transfer | Reasons for seeking information are not generally required; transfer has a separate deadline. |
| 7 | Disposal | Ordinary response, urgent life/liberty cases, fees and rejection communication require distinct treatment. |
| 8 | Exemptions | Apply the actual clause, public-interest provisions and relevant limits. |
| 9 | Third-party copyright | This is a specific refusal ground, not a general exemption for all copyrighted government material. |
| 10 | Severability | Disclosable portions can be separated from exempt portions. |
| 11 | Third-party consultation | Consultation is a procedure; it is not an unconditional third-party veto. |
| 12 | Central Commission | The Central Information Commission is constituted under the Act. |
| 15 | State Commissions | State Information Commissions have their own statutory constitution. |
| 18 | Complaints | A complaint route should not be casually equated with every form of appeal relief. |
| 19 | Appeals | First and second appeals have different forums and time limits. |
| 20 | Penalties | The Commission assesses the statutory grounds and provides the required opportunity. |
| 22 | Overriding effect | The Act prevails over inconsistent provisions within its stated scope. |
| 23 | Bar on court proceedings | Read the statutory bar without suggesting that constitutional judicial review disappears. |
| 24 | Specified organisations | The exemption is qualified by corruption and human-rights provisions. |
| 25 | Monitoring | Annual reporting supports review of implementation. |
| 26 | Awareness and training | Implementation includes public education and capacity building. |
The timeline table
| Situation | Statutory period or rule |
|---|---|
| Ordinary request | Normally thirty days under section 7, subject to applicable provisions. |
| Life or liberty | Forty-eight hours where the statutory life-or-liberty condition applies. |
| Transfer to another public authority | As soon as practicable and no later than five days under section 6(3). |
| Application through an APIO | Five days are added for computing the section 7(1) response period. |
| Third-party notice | Notice within five days where section 11 applies. |
| Third-party representation | The third party has ten days from receipt of notice to make a representation. |
| Third-party decision | Decision within forty days from receipt of the request under section 11. |
| First appeal | Normally thirty days from the relevant expiry or decision, with delay condonation provisions. |
| First-appeal disposal | Thirty days, extendable to a total of forty-five days with written reasons. |
| Second appeal | Normally ninety days, with provision for admitting delayed appeals for sufficient cause. |
The life-or-liberty route is not a general shortcut for every urgent personal concern. The request must fit that statutory condition. Likewise, section 11’s forty-day framework should not be applied to every request merely because another person’s name appears in a file. Identify the actual procedural trigger. A proper rejection should communicate reasons and the available appeal particulars rather than only saying confidential or not permissible.
Exemptions: read the protected interest
Section 8 includes protected interests concerning national security and related matters, court-prohibited information or contempt, legislative privilege, commercial confidence, fiduciary relationships, information received in confidence from a foreign government, safety and confidential sources, investigations, cabinet papers and personal information. Each clause has its own wording. A pending investigation does not justify a mechanical refusal without considering the applicable test; a commercial document is not automatically exempt merely because a company supplied it.
The amended personal-information clause must be read with section 8(2). The latter allows disclosure where public interest outweighs harm to protected interests. Section 10 asks whether exempt portions can reasonably be severed. Section 11 provides a consultation process in its specified circumstances. A good examination answer identifies the relevant clause, considers any applicable override or procedure and avoids sweeping statements that all personal records are always available or always inaccessible.
The twenty-year provision in section 8(3) has specified exceptions. It is not a universal rule that every old document becomes disclosable regardless of its nature. Similarly, section 24’s treatment of specified intelligence and security organisations is qualified: corruption and human-rights allegations receive special treatment, with the prescribed approval and timing framework for human-rights information. Learn the qualification with the exemption.
Landmark decisions and what to retain
CBSE v. Aditya Bandopadhyay (2011): evaluated answer books can fall within information accessible under the Act, subject to the legal framework and applicable exemptions. The decision is also useful for understanding that an authority need not create information or supply an opinion that is not held on record. Do not convert access to an answer script into an automatic right to re-evaluation under RTI.
CPIO, Supreme Court of India v. Subhash Chandra Agarwal (2019): the office of the Chief Justice of India falls within the public-authority framework. The judgment examines transparency alongside privacy and other protected interests. Being a public authority does not make every document automatically disclosable. When revising older decisions on personal information, distinguish their historical statutory setting from the amended clause now in force.
For case-law revision, record the court, year, issue, holding and limitation. Avoid memorising only a headline. A judgment on one class of records does not settle every later request involving different facts or amended legislation. The safest short answer states the central principle and acknowledges the conditions that prevent overgeneralisation.
Penalties and accountability
Section 20 provides for a penalty of ₹250 per day, subject to a maximum of ₹25,000, where the statutory grounds are established. The Commission must provide the concerned officer a reasonable opportunity to be heard. The Act also addresses disciplinary recommendations in the stated circumstances. Penalty is not simply an automatic payment to the applicant for every delayed response; compensation and penalty are different concepts.
A PIO should maintain a record of receipt, searches, assistance sought, fee communication, transfer and dispatch. Good records help explain what was done and support timely disposal. They also make it easier to identify whether a delay arose from missing records, poor coordination or a legal issue requiring examination. Administrative responsibility should be assessed through the actual statutory framework and evidence.
Ten application questions with answers
1. An applicant asks why an officer made a decision, but no explanation exists beyond the recorded order. Must the PIO create a new justification?
The PIO should provide the existing relevant records subject to the Act, not invent a fresh opinion. A recorded reason is information; a demand to create a new explanation is different.
2. Must a citizen explain personal motivation for seeking a copy of an order?
The Act does not generally require reasons for seeking information. Necessary contact particulars and prescribed procedural requirements should not become a demand to justify curiosity.
3. One page contains both disclosable expenditure details and exempt information. Must the whole page be withheld?
Examine reasonable severability under section 10. Partial disclosure may be possible with the required explanation, rather than refusing the entire record automatically.
4. A third party objects to disclosure. Is that objection always decisive?
No. The consultation process informs the decision but does not create an unconditional veto. The authority must apply the relevant statutory provisions and give a reasoned decision.
5. A request is sent to the wrong public authority but concerns information held by another.
Consider transfer under section 6(3), including its five-day outer limit and communication to the applicant, rather than simply closing the matter without examining the transfer duty.
6. Does an RTI application itself grant a disputed pension?
No. It can seek relevant records and reasons already held, but substantive entitlement and grievance relief follow their own legal and administrative processes.
7. Is every delayed reply automatically penalised at the maximum amount?
No. The Commission applies section 20, its grounds, daily rate, ceiling and hearing requirements. Delay alone should not be described as an automatic maximum penalty.
8. Can an older summary of section 8(1)(j) be treated as the current text?
Not without checking the amendment. The DoPT consolidated text reviewed here records substitution effective 13 November 2025. Match the legal version to the question’s date.
9. Does section 24 mean every record of a listed organisation is absolutely outside RTI?
No. The statutory corruption and human-rights qualifications must be considered. The human-rights route also has special approval and timing conditions.
10. Does access to an evaluated answer book necessarily require the examining body to re-mark it?
No. Access and re-evaluation are distinct issues. The examination’s governing rules and applicable judgments must be considered separately for re-evaluation.
Final revision method
Create three sheets: sections and institutions, deadlines and procedures, and exemptions with qualifications. Add the current personal-information amendment prominently. Practise identifying whether a question concerns access, proactive disclosure, transfer, appeal, complaint, penalty or substantive grievance relief. The most common mistakes come from using the correct number for the wrong procedure or quoting an older clause without noticing the date.
Continue your preparation
RTI foundation notes · Office procedure
Sources and editorial notes
DoPT consolidated amended RTI Act · PIB explanation of DPDP and RTI interaction · CBSE v. Aditya Bandopadhyay judgment
Practice questions and worked examples are prepared by CrackTarget. They are not claimed as previous-year questions unless an official paper and question reference are explicitly supplied. Use the recruitment notice applicable to your post for the final syllabus and examination instructions.
A better way to frame an information request
Suppose a candidate wants to understand why an application was rejected. A focused request could seek the recorded scrutiny note, the applicable eligibility criteria and the communicated decision, subject to the Act. Asking the PIO to explain whether the decision was morally fair is a different kind of demand. The first approach identifies records; the second asks for a fresh evaluative opinion. Similarly, seeking a copy of a sanction order is different from asking the PIO to issue a sanction. Clear record identification helps the authority search and helps an appellate forum understand the dispute.
For officers, the lesson is equally practical: preserve the decision trail when the original matter is processed. A file should show the material considered, the rule applied and the authorised conclusion. RTI compliance is easier when ordinary administration already produces reliable records. Transparency should therefore be designed into the workflow rather than treated as an emergency task after a request arrives.