The Right to Information Act, 2005 (Act No. 22 of 2005) sets out a practical regime for citizens to secure access to information held by public authorities, to promote transparency and accountability in government and contain corruption. It establishes the Central Information Commission and State Information Commissions, prescribes the procedure for making and disposing of information requests, lists exemptions from disclosure, and provides for appeals and penalties for non-compliance. Text current as amended by the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, as on 18th November, 2025.
CHAPTER I — PRELIMINARY
CHAPTER II — RIGHT TO INFORMATION AND OBLIGATIONS OF PUBLIC AUTHORITIES
- Section 3 — Right to information
- Section 4 — Obligations of public authorities
- Section 5 — Designation of Public Information Officers
- Section 6 — Request for obtaining information
- Section 7 — Disposal of request
- Section 8 — Exemption from disclosure of information
- Section 9 — Grounds for rejection to access in certain cases
- Section 10 — Severability
- Section 11 — Third party information
CHAPTER III — THE CENTRAL INFORMATION COMMISSION
- Section 12 — Constitution of Central Information Commission
- Section 13 — Terms of office and conditions of service
- Section 14 — Removal of Chief Information Commissioner or Information Commissioner
CHAPTER IV — THE STATE INFORMATION COMMISSION
- Section 15 — Constitution of State Information Commission
- Section 16 — Term of office and conditions of service
- Section 17 — Removal of State Chief Information Commissioner or State Information Commissioner
CHAPTER V — POWERS AND FUNCTIONS OF THE INFORMATION COMMISSIONS, APPEAL AND PENALTIES
- Section 18 — Powers and functions of Information Commissions
- Section 19 — Appeal
- Section 20 — Penalties
CHAPTER VI — MISCELLANEOUS
- Section 21 — Protection of action taken in good faith
- Section 22 — Act to have overriding effect
- Section 23 — Bar of jurisdiction of courts
- Section 24 — Act not to apply to certain organisations
- Section 25 — Monitoring and reporting
- Section 26 — Appropriate Government to prepare programmes
- Section 27 — Power to make rules by appropriate Government
- Section 28 — Power to make rules by competent authority
- Section 29 — Laying of rules
- Section 30 — Power to remove difficulties
- Section 31 — Repeal
SCHEDULES
- The First Schedule — Form of Oath or Affirmation
- The Second Schedule — Intelligence and Security Organisations
Note: The Right to Information Act, 2005 received the assent of the President on 15th June, 2005, and repealed the Freedom of Information Act, 2002. It has since been amended by the Right to Information (Amendment) Act, 2019, the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023. This site’s build-out is now complete across all six Chapters and both Schedules.
