RTI for Allahabad High Court Prayagraj Registry — Certified Copy Fees, Registry Procedures and Administrative Records

The Allahabad High Court, with its Principal Bench at Tilak Marg, Prayagraj, is one of the oldest and largest High Courts in the world. Established in 1866 under the High Courts Act, 1861, it exercises jurisdiction over the entire state of Uttar Pradesh — home to more than 200 million people. With lakhs of cases on its docket at any given time and a Registry that processes hundreds of certified copy applications, listing requests, and administrative matters every day, the High Court's administrative apparatus is substantial.

Litigants — and particularly those without legal representation — frequently need information that the High Court's Registry holds: what fees are applicable for certified copies, how long the process actually takes, which officer handles a particular section, or what the court's administrative budget looks like. The Right to Information Act, 2005 provides a legal mechanism to obtain such information. Under Section 2(h) of the RTI Act, the Allahabad High Court is a public authority in respect of its administrative, secretarial, and ministerial functions — and is bound by the same disclosure obligations as any other public authority.

There is, however, a critical limitation that every applicant must understand before filing: RTI applies to the administrative functions of the High Court Registry, not to its judicial functions. This distinction is fundamental, and failing to observe it will result in your application being rejected — correctly so.

The Administrative/Judicial Distinction: What RTI Covers and What It Does Not

What RTI Covers

The Allahabad High Court Registry — as a large government office managing staff, budgets, certified copy procedures, filing infrastructure, and institutional records — is squarely within the RTI Act's reach for administrative matters:

• Certified copy fee schedules: The current fee per page, stamp charges, urgent versus ordinary rates, and any orders of the competent authority prescribing those fees
• Registry procedure and timelines: How the certified copy section operates, the prescribed turnaround time, and the average actual turnaround time
• Pending case statistics: Aggregate counts of cases pending before the court by category — these are statistical administrative facts, not details of any individual case
• Staff roster and postings: Names, designations, and posting dates of Court Masters, Bench Secretaries, Section Officers, and ministerial staff in named sections
• Administrative expenditure: Budget allocations and actual expenditure for establishment, infrastructure, technology, and other non-judicial heads
• RTI disposal records: How many RTI applications the Court's own CPIO office has received and disposed of, how many were denied and on what grounds
• Recruitment and service records: Vacancies in the Registry's ministerial cadre, recruitment examination results, seniority lists for ministerial staff, promotion criteria

What RTI Does Not Cover

RTI cannot be used to obtain information about the judicial functions of the court. The settled legal position, affirmed by the Supreme Court and multiple High Courts, is that High Courts in their judicial capacity — adjudicating disputes, passing orders, and conducting proceedings — are not "public authorities" for RTI purposes in respect of those judicial acts. The following are outside RTI's reach:

• Judicial orders and judgments: Obtain these through the certified copy procedure at the Registry or through the High Court's official website and e-Courts portal. You do not need RTI for a judgment — certified copies are issued on direct application.
• Next date of hearing: This is publicly available free of charge on the Allahabad High Court's website (allahabadhighcourt.in) and on the National Judicial Data Grid at njdg.ecourts.gov.in.
• What happened in a specific hearing: Obtain the certified copy of the order passed in that hearing from the Certified Copy Section.
• A judge's reasoning for a specific decision: That reasoning is in the judgment or order — obtain a certified copy.
• Details of ongoing case proceedings: RTI cannot be used as a parallel channel to monitor or influence an active case.

Section 8(1)(b) of the RTI Act, 2005, exempts information whose disclosure would constitute contempt of court from the disclosure obligation. Any attempt to use RTI to probe judicial decision-making would additionally run into this exemption.

The Lucknow Bench: A Separate Office

The Allahabad High Court has a Permanent Bench at Lucknow, established under Article 230 of the Constitution, to serve the Awadh region districts. For RTI purposes, the Lucknow Bench operates as a separate office with its own designated CPIO. Records relating to certified copies issued at the Lucknow Bench, staff posted at the Lucknow Bench, or administrative expenditure of the Lucknow Bench office are held at Lucknow — not at the Prayagraj Registry.

If your query relates to administrative matters of the Lucknow Bench, address your RTI application to the CPIO designated for the Lucknow Bench, Allahabad High Court, Lucknow — not to the Prayagraj CPIO. A misdirected application can result in a transfer under Section 6(3) that costs you additional time, or in a partial response covering only Prayagraj data.

This guide focuses on the Principal Bench at Prayagraj.

What You Can Obtain via RTI from the Prayagraj Registry

Certified Copy Fee Schedule and Procedures

Litigants frequently encounter confusion about certified copy fees — the per-page rate, whether an urgent fee applies, what additional charges are levied, and whether the schedule has been revised. RTI can secure:

1. The current certified copy fee schedule — fee per page, first copy rate, additional copy rate, urgent copy surcharge, and any stamp paper or court fee stamp requirement — as approved by the competent authority
2. The prescribed procedure for applying for a certified copy: which section to approach, what forms to fill, where to deposit fees, and how to track application status
3. The average time taken to issue certified copies from the date of application — broken down by ordinary and urgent categories — for a specified period
4. The name and designation of the officer in charge of the Certified Copy Section

Registry Staff and Sanctioned Strength

5. The sanctioned strength versus actual strength of Court Masters, Bench Secretaries, and Section Officers in named sections of the Prayagraj Registry
6. The number of vacancies in the ministerial cadre of the Registry and steps taken to fill them
7. The roster of officers posted in specific sections (Certified Copy, Writ, Civil, Criminal, Listing) with names, designations, and dates of posting

Administrative Expenditure

8. The administrative budget of the Allahabad High Court (Principal Bench) for a specified financial year — establishment cost, infrastructure, technology, and other non-judicial heads
9. The actual expenditure incurred against the sanctioned budget for a specified year

Pending Case Statistics

10. Aggregate case pendency data for the Principal Bench — total cases pending by category (Writ, Civil, Criminal, etc.) as of a specified date — which is a statistical administrative fact, not an individual case disclosure

RTI Disposal Records

11. The number of RTI applications received by the CPIO of the Allahabad High Court Registry, the number disposed of within 30 days, the number where information was denied, and the grounds cited for denial — for a specified financial year

How to File RTI with the Allahabad High Court Registry

Identify the Correct CPIO

Address your application to:

The Central Public Information Officer (CPIO),
Allahabad High Court Registry,
Tilak Marg, Prayagraj – 211001, Uttar Pradesh.

If your query relates specifically to the Lucknow Bench, use the CPIO designated for the Lucknow Bench.

Filing Mode

The Allahabad High Court Registry accepts RTI applications by post or in person. The court's website at allahabadhighcourt.in should be checked for any updated instructions on filing mode or the specific section where RTI applications are received. When filing in person, request a dated acknowledgement receipt — this fixes the 30-day clock.

The Central Government's online RTI portal at rtionline.gov.in is not applicable here — the Allahabad High Court is a state institution and is not part of the Central Government's online filing system. Uttar Pradesh's state online RTI portal at rtionlineup.up.nic.in is designed for state government departments, and its applicability to the High Court Registry may be limited; the safest course is to file by registered post or in person at the Registry.

Pay the Fee

The prescribed fee is ₹10 under the Right to Information (Regulation of Fee and Cost) Rules, 2005. Pay by Indian Postal Order (IPO) drawn in favour of the Registrar General, Allahabad High Court, or as otherwise specified by the Registry. BPL cardholders are exempt from all fees under Section 7(5) of the RTI Act — enclose a self-attested copy of your BPL certificate and state the exemption explicitly.

Relevant RTI Act Provisions

The following sections of the Right to Information Act, 2005 apply:

• Section 2(h) — The Allahabad High Court is a public authority in respect of its administrative and ministerial functions, bound by RTI obligations for those functions
• Section 6 — The application is filed under this section; you are not required to state any reason for seeking the information
• Section 7(1) — The CPIO must respond within 30 days of receipt; if the matter concerns life or liberty, within 48 hours
• Section 8(1)(b) — Information whose disclosure would constitute contempt of court is exempt; judicial deliberations and pending proceedings are protected under this provision
• Section 19(1) — First Appeal to the designated First Appellate Authority within the High Court establishment, filed within 30 days of the date of decision or expiry of the 30-day response period, whichever is applicable
• Section 19(3) — Second Appeal to the Uttar Pradesh Information Commission (UPIC), filed within 90 days of the First Appellate Authority's decision
• Section 20 — UPIC may impose a penalty of ₹250 per day (maximum ₹25,000) on the CPIO for unjustified delay or non-disclosure, and may recommend disciplinary action

First Appeal and Second Appeal

First Appeal — Section 19(1)

If the CPIO does not respond within 30 days, responds incompletely, or refuses information without adequate legal justification, file a First Appeal addressed to the First Appellate Authority designated within the Allahabad High Court — typically the Registrar General or a senior officer designated as FAA. File within 30 days of the date of decision or expiry of the 30-day response period, whichever is applicable. No fee is payable. Attach: your original RTI application with proof of filing, the CPIO's response (if any), and a statement of what information was denied or inadequately provided.

Second Appeal — Section 19(3) — Uttar Pradesh Information Commission (UPIC)

If the First Appeal is unsatisfactory, or the FAA does not decide within 30 days (extendable to 45 days with reasons recorded in writing), file a Second Appeal with the Uttar Pradesh Information Commission (UPIC) under Section 19(3) within 90 days of the FAA's order or the date it should have been made.

UPIC is constituted under Section 15 of the RTI Act and has jurisdiction over all public authorities of the Government of Uttar Pradesh — including the administrative wing of the Allahabad High Court. This is the correct second appeal body; the Central Information Commission (CIC) has jurisdiction only over Central Government bodies and is not the correct forum for second appeals against the Allahabad High Court Registry.

Under Section 20, UPIC can impose a penalty of up to ₹25,000 on the CPIO personally and recommend disciplinary action if the delay or non-disclosure is found to be unjustified.

Practical Guidance for Applicants

Frame your request around administrative facts, not judicial ones. Before filing, ask yourself: "Is what I am asking about something the Registry's administrative office manages — fees, staff, procedures, budgets — or is it about a judge's decision?" If the latter, use the certified copy procedure or the court's public-facing tools, not RTI.

Use specific timeframes. Requests for "all information" about a topic will receive partial or deflective responses. Specify the financial year, the date, or the period you need. For certified copy delay data, name the section and the timeframe.

File by registered post. The tracking number and delivery proof fix the date from which the 30-day clock runs — essential if you need to rely on a non-response for purposes of the First Appeal.

Check allahabadhighcourt.in first. Many basic administrative facts — cause lists, daily orders, general information about certified copy procedures — are available on the High Court's own website. Use RTI for information that is not publicly available or that you need in official certified form.

Keep copies of everything. Every RTI application, acknowledgement, response, and appeal document should be retained. UPIC will require copies of prior correspondence when hearing a Second Appeal.