By S&S Co. Advocates & Solicitors · Published 12 September 2026 · Informational content, not legal advice — see our disclaimer
Filing the Initial RTI Application
The Right to Information Act, 2005 gives every citizen the right to request information from a "public authority" — broadly, government departments, public sector bodies, and other bodies substantially financed or controlled by the government. An RTI application must be made in writing, in English or the official language of the area, or in Hindi, and addressed to the Public Information Officer (PIO) designated by the relevant public authority to handle such requests. For requests to central government public authorities, the RTI Online Portal provides an electronic filing route that avoids the need to post a physical application and pay the fee by postal order or demand draft; state-level public authorities may have their own equivalent online systems, or may still require physical filing, depending on the state, and applicants should confirm the correct filing channel for the specific authority they are approaching before submitting a request.
The application must be accompanied by the prescribed application fee, and the request itself should be framed as a request for identifiable, existing information or records — rather than, for instance, a request for the authority's opinion, or a request that would in substance require the authority to create new information that does not already exist in some record.
When and Why to File a First Appeal
If the PIO denies the request, fails to respond within the statutory time limit, or provides an incomplete or unsatisfactory response, the applicant's first recourse is a First Appeal, filed within 30 days of the deemed or actual refusal (a further, limited condonation of delay may be available on sufficient cause, at the discretion of the appellate authority). The First Appeal is made to the First Appellate Authority — an officer designated within the same public authority who is senior in rank to the PIO, and who is expected to independently review whether the information should have been provided and, where the PIO wrongly refused or withheld information, to direct that it be furnished.
Because the First Appeal is decided within the same public authority the original request was made to, applicants should treat it as a genuine opportunity to have an internal, senior review correct an erroneous refusal — clearly setting out why the PIO's refusal or incomplete response does not, in the applicant's view, fall within any of the Act's specific exemptions — rather than as a purely procedural formality to get through on the way to the Information Commission.
The Second Appeal — to the Information Commission
If the First Appellate Authority does not decide the appeal within the time the Act contemplates, or decides it unsatisfactorily, the applicant can pursue a Second Appeal to the Central Information Commission (for requests made to central public authorities) or the relevant State Information Commission (for requests made to state public authorities). Under Section 19(3) of the RTI Act, the Second Appeal must ordinarily be filed within 90 days from the date on which the First Appellate Authority's decision was due, or was actually received, whichever gives the applicant the relevant starting point on the facts of the case — again subject to a limited discretionary condonation for delay on sufficient cause. The Central Information Commission (Appeal Procedure) Rules, 2005 govern the procedure for a Second Appeal before the CIC, including how the appeal is to be presented and heard.
The Information Commission's powers at the Second Appeal stage go beyond simply directing disclosure — the Act empowers the Commission to require the public authority to take specific steps to secure compliance, and, in appropriate cases, to impose a penalty on the PIO personally for unreasonable refusal, unjustified delay, or providing incomplete, misleading or false information, subject to the specific conditions and procedure the Act sets out for imposing such a penalty. This penalty power is one of the more meaningful practical levers available to an applicant frustrated by a public authority's repeated non-compliance, though it is exercised at the Commission's discretion on the specific facts before it rather than automatically.
What Happens After the Second Appeal
A decision of the Information Commission at the Second Appeal stage is not, strictly speaking, subject to a further statutory appeal under the RTI Act itself, but it remains open to an aggrieved party — whether the applicant or the public authority — to challenge the Commission's order before the relevant High Court by way of a writ petition, on the ordinary grounds available for judicial review of an administrative or quasi-judicial order. Applicants should treat the Information Commission's decision as the practical end of the RTI Act's own internal appeal process, with any further challenge moving into the separate framework of writ jurisdiction rather than a continuation of the RTI appeal mechanism itself.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does a public authority have to respond to an RTI application?
The Right to Information Act prescribes a standard response window (ordinarily 30 days from receipt of the application, with a shorter window where the information concerns the life or liberty of a person, and a somewhat longer window in certain specified circumstances) — applicants should confirm the exact applicable period for their specific request against the current text of the Act, since the timeline can vary with the nature of the information sought and which office actually holds it.
What is the deadline to file a First Appeal against a PIO's refusal?
A First Appeal must ordinarily be filed within 30 days of the refusal, or of the expiry of the period within which a response was due, whichever applies on the facts. The appellate authority has limited discretion to condone delay beyond that period on a showing of sufficient cause, but applicants should not rely on that discretion and should file within the 30-day window wherever possible.
What is the deadline to file a Second Appeal to the Information Commission?
Under Section 19(3) of the RTI Act, a Second Appeal must ordinarily be filed within 90 days from the date the First Appellate Authority's decision was due, or was actually received. As with the First Appeal, the Commission has limited discretion to condone delay on sufficient cause, but the 90-day window should be treated as the standard deadline.
Can a Public Information Officer be penalised for wrongly refusing an RTI request?
Yes, in appropriate cases. The Information Commission has power, at the Second Appeal stage, to impose a penalty on the PIO personally for unreasonable refusal, unjustified delay, or providing incomplete, misleading or false information, subject to the specific conditions and procedure the Act sets out. This is exercised at the Commission's discretion on the facts of each case rather than automatically.
References & Further Reading
This article references the following statutory provisions. Readers should always verify current rules, fees and timelines against the applicable statute and rules as amended, since these are revised from time to time.
- Right to Information Act, 2005, Sections 6, 7, 19 and 20, as amended.
- Central Information Commission (Appeal Procedure) Rules, 2005, as amended.
- RTI Online Portal (rtionline.gov.in) filing procedure for requests to central public authorities, and the corresponding state-level portal or physical filing procedure for state public authorities.