Court Assistant

Turn Your Information Request into an RTI Application

Identify the public authority, frame clear questions, and prepare an application. Check the applicable fees, submission route, and appeal procedure.

Prepare your records and choose the next resource

Use this page for procedural preparation. Read the relevant law explanation and check the official authority's current forms, fees and instructions before filing.

Jurisdiction

PIO of the public authority holding the information (Central via rtionline.gov.in, or State portals).

Fees

Central RTI Rules prescribe a ₹10 application fee and ₹2 per A4/A3 copy; BPL exemption and other charges apply as specified. State and competent-authority rules may differ; check the relevant fee schedule.

Timeline

Section 19(6): first appeals should be decided within 30 days, extendable to a total of 45 days with written reasons. Late first or second appeals may be admitted for sufficient cause under Section 19; admission is discretionary. No Commission disposal time is promised.

Required documents

Application in writing (English/Hindi/official state language)
Application fee ₹10 (Central) — waived for BPL applicants with proof
Keep the filed request, registration/delivery receipt, fee correspondence and replies. For an appeal, keep the first-appeal receipt and order, if received; index the supporting documents.

Step-by-step process

1Identify the correct public authority and its PIO.
2Draft specific, targeted questions (avoid open-ended requests).
3Use rtionline.gov.in only for listed Central public authorities. For State authorities, use the applicable State route or accepted offline method; do not submit a State request to the Central portal.
4The usual response period is 30 days from receipt, or 48 hours for information concerning life or liberty. Statutory exceptions and fee intimations can affect the calculation; retain receipt and correspondence dates.
5First appeal: Section 19(1) ordinarily allows 30 days from expiry of the applicable response period or receipt of the challenged decision. Apply to the senior appellate officer in the same public authority.
6Second appeal: Section 19(3) ordinarily allows 90 days from when the first-appeal decision was due or actually received. Use CIC for Central authorities or the relevant SIC for State authorities; check its filing requirements.

Kanoon-AIPlatform publisher · AI-assisted contentMaterially updated: 2026-10-24Editorial policy

Source check scope: Targeted English/Hindi source check of Section 19 as reproduced by the Central Information Commission and CIC second-appeal filing guidelines. Corrected appeal-period triggers, discretionary late admission, first-appeal disposal and evidence preparation. Central portal/BPL instructions checked against RTI Online FAQ. India Code PDF retrieval timed out in this pass; no complete amendment, exemption, State procedure or qualified translation/advocate review is claimed.

Review status

Not individually reviewed by an advocate. This page may be AI-assisted and has not been individually reviewed by an advocate unless a named reviewer is shown here.

Primary sources and verification

This filing guide is general procedural information for India and may be AI-assisted. Court fees, forms and local practice vary by state and court — confirm with the official source below and with an advocate before filing.

Spotted an error? Report an error

Correction history: See recorded changes below.

2026-10-24: Added descriptive links to the relevant law and next resource, with topic-related reference material. This does not certify the current forms, fees or complete legal procedure.
2026-10-23: Replaced the 30-then-90-day shorthand with distinct first/second-appeal triggers; distinguished the appellate authority's decision period from the applicant's filing period; added evidence and direct CIC sources in English/Hindi.
2026-10-22: Corrected English/Hindi Central-versus-State portal routing and fee scope; removed unsupported second-appeal disposal estimate. This is a targeted correction, not a complete statutory-deadline or translation review.