RTI for Bombay High Court Registry — Certified Copies, Legal Aid and Administrative Records

Citizens across Maharashtra, Goa, and the Union Territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu who have matters before the Bombay High Court — or who need certified copies of its orders, information about legal aid, cause list records, or administrative data — have a legally enforceable right to this information under the Right to Information Act, 2005. The Bombay High Court Registry, as a public authority under Section 2(h) of the RTI Act, 2005, is obliged to respond within 30 days, designate Central Public Information Officers (CPIOs) at each of its sittings, and allow appeals through the prescribed hierarchy.

The Bombay High Court: History, Jurisdiction, and Four Sittings

One of India's Oldest High Courts, Founded in 1862

The Bombay High Court was established on 14 August 1862 under the High Courts Act, 1861 — the same legislation that created the Calcutta and Madras High Courts in the same year. This makes the Bombay High Court one of the three oldest High Courts in India, predating the independence of the country by over eight decades. Over more than 160 years of continuous operation, the court has accumulated an extraordinary body of case law and has been the forum for some of the most consequential constitutional and commercial litigation in Indian history.

The court's principal seat is located at Fort, Mumbai, in an iconic heritage building on the western edge of the Oval Maidan — one of the architectural landmarks of the city. The building, with its Gothic Revival architecture, clock tower, and stone facade, is a Grade I heritage structure and is inseparable from the identity of the legal profession in western India.

The court functions under the Letters Patent of 1865 that constituted it as the High Court of Judicature at Bombay, as subsequently modified by legislative enactments over the decades, and more recently under the framework of Articles 214 to 231 of the Constitution of India.

Jurisdiction: Maharashtra, Goa, and Two Union Territories

The territorial jurisdiction of the Bombay High Court is broader than many citizens realise, covering four distinct units:

Maharashtra: The entire State of Maharashtra — all 36 districts — falls within the Bombay High Court's jurisdiction. Maharashtra is the third-largest state in India by area and among the most economically significant, with Mumbai serving as the country's financial capital. The volume of commercial, corporate, and constitutional litigation from Maharashtra alone makes the Bombay High Court one of the busiest High Courts in India.

Goa: The State of Goa, which was liberated from Portuguese colonial administration in 1961 and achieved full statehood in 1987, is within the Bombay High Court's jurisdiction. Goa's civil and criminal law has some distinctive features — including the continued application of the Portuguese Civil Code in certain personal law matters — that give rise to a unique body of litigation.

Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu: These two Union Territories, formerly administered separately, were merged into a single UT on 26 January 2020 under the Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (Merger of Union Territories) Act, 2019. Both are small enclaves geographically located near the Gujarat coast, and their courts fall within the supervisory jurisdiction of the Bombay High Court.

It is important to note what the Bombay High Court's jurisdiction does not include: the neighbouring State of Gujarat, which was carved out of the former State of Bombay on 1 May 1960 under the Bombay Reorganisation Act, 1960 and has its own independent Gujarat High Court at Ahmedabad (now also sitting at Surat). Matters originating from Gujarat must go to the Gujarat High Court — the Bombay High Court has no jurisdiction over Gujarat.

Four Sittings: Mumbai, Nagpur, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, and Panaji

The Bombay High Court has four permanent sittings, each with its own Registry, designated CPIOs, and First Appellate Authorities. Understanding which sitting handles your matter is essential for directing your RTI application correctly.

Principal Seat, Mumbai: The principal seat at Fort, Mumbai is the headquarters of the Bombay High Court. The Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court sits here, and the Registrar General's office — the apex administrative authority of the court — is located here. The Mumbai seat handles matters from the Mumbai City, Mumbai Suburban, and Thane districts as the primary jurisdictional centre, and also exercises its jurisdiction as the principal seat for company matters, admiralty matters, and original side civil suits. Most institutional administrative records — budgets, policies, HCLSC data, administrative orders — are centralised here.

Nagpur Bench: The Nagpur Bench is a permanent bench of the Bombay High Court located in Nagpur, the winter capital of Maharashtra. It handles matters from the Vidarbha region — the eastern districts of Maharashtra, including Nagpur, Wardha, Amravati, Akola, Washim, Buldhana, Yavatmal, Chandrapur, Gadchiroli, Gondia, and Bhandara. The Nagpur Bench has its own Registry, its own designated Registrar, and its own CPIOs. RTI applications concerning cases filed at the Nagpur Bench must be addressed to the CPIO at the Nagpur Bench Registry.

Aurangabad Bench (Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Bench): The Aurangabad Bench is located in the city historically known as Aurangabad, which was officially renamed Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in 2023. The bench is therefore now formally referred to as the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Bench, though it may still be referenced by the older name in legacy documents and official correspondence. This bench handles matters from the Marathwada region — including Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (Aurangabad), Jalna, Beed, Latur, Osmanabad (now Dharashiv), Nanded, Hingoli, and Parbhani districts. Like the Nagpur Bench, it has its own Registry and CPIOs.

Panaji Bench (Goa): The Goa Bench of the Bombay High Court is located at Panaji, the capital of Goa. It handles matters arising from the State of Goa and the Union Territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. Given the distinctive legal regime applicable in parts of Goa (including the Portuguese Civil Code for personal law matters in the Old Conquest territories), the Panaji Bench has developed its own body of jurisprudence. It has a separate Registry and its own CPIOs.

Case Categories at the Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court entertains a wide and complex range of matters across its four sittings:

• Writ Petitions (Civil) — constitutional challenges to legislation and executive action, service matters, departmental appeals, land acquisition and development control disputes, environmental challenges
• Writ Petitions (Criminal) — bail applications before the High Court, challenges to FIRs and arrests, habeas corpus petitions, challenges to orders of criminal courts
• First Appeals — appeals from original civil decrees of district courts and City Civil Courts
• Criminal Appeals — appeals from Sessions Court judgments in serious criminal cases
• Letters Patent Appeals — appeals against single-judge orders of the High Court in certain categories of matters, heard by a Division Bench
• Company Matters and Insolvency — winding-up petitions, matters under the Companies Act (original jurisdiction of the Bombay High Court on the original side), and corporate insolvency-related orders
• Admiralty Matters — the Bombay High Court has original admiralty jurisdiction given Mumbai's status as a major port
• Original Side Suits — civil suits above a pecuniary threshold filed as original civil proceedings before the High Court (primarily at the Mumbai principal seat)
• Public Interest Litigations (PILs) — matters of public concern with statewide or wider ramifications, filed by citizens or organisations
• Tax Matters — income tax references and appeals, GST matters, customs and excise appeals
• Matters under the Portuguese Civil Code — at the Panaji Bench, personal law disputes governed by the Goa, Daman and Diu Civil Procedure Code (the preserved Portuguese Civil Code)

What You Can Obtain Through RTI

The RTI Act applies to the administrative and registry functions of the Bombay High Court. The distinction between administrative function (covered by RTI) and judicial deliberation (not covered) is fundamental, and is discussed below. Within the administrative domain, the following categories of information are regularly accessible through RTI.

Certified Copies of Judgments and Orders

A certified copy of a judgment or order bears the court's seal and the signature of an authorised registry official, certifying it as a true copy of the original on the court record. Certified copies are required when appealing to the Supreme Court, initiating execution, presenting the order as legal evidence, or complying with conditions imposed by another court or authority.

The fastest route to a certified copy is typically a direct application at the Copying Section of the relevant Registry. RTI becomes particularly relevant when:

• The Copying Section application has been significantly delayed and accountability needs to be established
• The applicant is not a party on record and is uncertain about their entitlement under the standard certified copy procedure
• The matter is old and there is uncertainty about whether the physical file has been archived, digitised, or transferred
• Confirmation of the exact date and terms of an order is needed before committing to the formal copying procedure

Through RTI you can obtain:

• A certified copy of a specific order or judgment, identified by case number, year, and the exact date of the order
• Confirmation that a particular order was passed on a stated date
• The operative part or directions of a judgment, as recorded in the court register

Cause List Records

Current and forthcoming cause lists are published on the Bombay High Court's official website and on the eCourts portal. For archived cause lists — establishing that a matter was listed or not listed on a specific past date, or identifying which bench heard a matter — RTI is the appropriate route. You can obtain the cause list entry for a specific case on a specific date, including bench composition and the purpose of the listing.

Case Filing and Registration Details

• Date of filing and date of registration (these may differ where the Registry raised office objections before registering the petition)
• Court fees paid at filing — amount, head, and receipt number
• Office objections raised and whether they were complied with
• Defect notices issued and the applicant's compliance
• Whether a caveat has been lodged in a pending matter by any party

High Court Legal Services Committee (HCLSC) Records

The High Court Legal Services Committee (HCLSC) of the Bombay High Court is constituted under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 and is chaired by a sitting judge of the court. The HCLSC provides free legal services — including representation before the High Court — to eligible persons, who include:

• Women and children
• Members of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes
• Persons in custody
• Persons whose annual income is below the prescribed limit
• Victims of communal violence, mass disasters, floods, earthquakes, and industrial disasters
• Persons with disabilities

The HCLSC is an administrative body that maintains structured records of applications, eligibility determinations, beneficiaries approved, lawyers empanelled, and cases handled. These are fully accessible through RTI. You can obtain:

• The total number of legal aid applications received in a given financial year
• Eligibility criteria in force, with the relevant circular or administrative order
• Number of beneficiaries served, broken down by category
• Details of empanelled advocates, if a publicly accessible list exists
• Budget allocated and expenditure incurred by HCLSC for a given year

This information is valuable for litigants monitoring their own legal aid applications, for civil society organisations evaluating access to justice, and for researchers studying legal aid delivery in Maharashtra and Goa.

Court Administrative Budget and Expenditure

The Bombay High Court as an institution receives budget allocations from the Government of Maharashtra for its administrative functioning — salaries of ministerial staff, building maintenance, IT infrastructure, library, and court construction. This budget data is an administrative record accessible through RTI. You can request:

• Sanctioned budget and actual expenditure under major heads for a specified financial year
• Details of specific projects — digitisation of court records, e-filing infrastructure, construction of new courtrooms
• Information about contracts awarded for IT systems, physical infrastructure, or court renovation works

Case Pendency Statistics

The Bombay High Court publishes aggregate pendency data through the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) and in its annual reports. RTI supplements this with more granular data:

• Total pending cases at all four sittings as of a specific date, broken down by case type
• Cases pending beyond a specified age — for example, cases filed more than 10 years ago
• Institution and disposal statistics for a given year — how many new cases were filed and how many were disposed

Administrative Orders and Circulars

The Registrar General of the Bombay High Court issues administrative circulars and practice directions governing filing procedures, listing, and the conduct of the Registry. These include:

• Practice directions on e-filing requirements and the physical filing process
• Orders on bench constitution and allocation of subjects to specific benches
• Notifications of changes to court fee structures
• Circulars relating to COVID-era or post-COVID modifications
• Seniority lists and promotion orders for ministerial Registry staff
• Annual lists of approved law clerks or judicial assistants

What RTI Cannot Obtain: Judicial Deliberations and Section 8(1)(b)

This is the single most important limitation when filing RTI with any High Court, and it is critical to understand its scope.

The Judicial Deliberation Exemption

Section 8(1)(b) of the RTI Act, 2005 provides that there is no obligation to disclose "information which has been expressly forbidden to be published by any court of law or tribunal or the disclosure of which may constitute contempt of court." Beyond this express statutory provision, the more fundamental principle is that judicial deliberation — the internal decision-making process by which judges arrive at their orders and judgments — is constitutionally protected and does not fall within the administrative domain that is amenable to RTI oversight.

The following cannot be obtained through RTI:

• Draft judgments — orders or judgments not yet formally pronounced in open court
• Chambers notes or judicial notings made by a judge that did not crystallise into a formal entered order
• Inter-judge correspondence or pre-pronouncement discussions within a bench
• Observations made during hearings that were not recorded as formal orders in the court record
• Internal bench files and judicial note-sheets that reflect the deliberative process before a judgment is delivered

The governing distinction is between the output of the judicial process (the pronounced, entered order — an administrative record, accessible) and the process of arriving at that output (judicial deliberations — constitutionally protected, not accessible via RTI). RTI reaches the Registry, not the judicial chamber.

In-Camera and Sensitive Proceedings

In matrimonial matters, proceedings under the Domestic Violence Act, cases involving minors, matters where the court has expressly ordered proceedings to be held in camera, and matters under the Portuguese Civil Code involving sensitive personal information, the records of proceedings and the identities of parties may be exempt under Section 8(1)(j) — personal information with no legitimate public interest justification — as well as under any court order directing confidentiality.

Identifying the Correct Bench and CPIO

Addressing your RTI application to the correct bench and sitting is essential. The Bombay High Court has four sittings with separate CPIOs, and a misdirected application will be transferred under Section 6(3) — adding up to five days to the 30-day response window.

How to determine the correct bench: If you know the case number, the bench can typically be identified from it — the cause number or petition number will often carry a notation or prefix indicating which bench it was filed at. Alternatively, the eCourts portal (ecourts.gov.in) allows you to search by case number and will show the court and bench information.

• If your case was filed at Mumbai Principal Seat → CPIO, Registry of the Bombay High Court, Fort, Mumbai – 400032
• If your case was filed at the Nagpur Bench → CPIO, Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court, Nagpur
• If your case was filed at the Aurangabad/Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Bench → CPIO, Aurangabad Bench of the Bombay High Court, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar
• If your case was filed at the Panaji Bench (Goa) → CPIO, Panaji Bench of the Bombay High Court, Panaji, Goa

For general administrative or institutional information — budget, HCLSC policies, pendency aggregates for the whole court — the Principal Seat Registry at Mumbai is the appropriate starting point.

How to File RTI with the Bombay High Court Registry

Online Through rtionline.gov.in

RTI applications to the Bombay High Court can be filed online through the national RTI portal at rtionline.gov.in, operated by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), Government of India. The steps:

1. Visit rtionline.gov.in and create or log in to your account.
2. In the ministry/department selection, navigate to the Bombay High Court or the relevant bench.
3. Complete the online application form, specifying the information you seek with precision — case type, number, year, date of order, and the specific records requested.
4. Pay the ₹10 fee through the online payment gateway. BPL cardholders may upload a self-attested copy of their BPL card to claim the Section 7(5) exemption from payment.
5. Submit and note the registration number — the 30-day response period under Section 7(1) runs from the date of receipt by the CPIO.

By Post to the Principal Seat Registry, Mumbai

For matters at the Principal Seat, send by speed post or registered post:

The Central Public Information Officer, Registry of the Bombay High Court, Fort, Mumbai – 400032, Maharashtra.

Enclose a crossed Indian Postal Order (IPO) for ₹10 drawn in favour of the Registrar General, Bombay High Court. Retain the postal receipt — it establishes the date of dispatch and is essential for any First Appeal based on non-response or delayed response.

By Post to the Nagpur Bench Registry

The Central Public Information Officer, Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court, Nagpur, Maharashtra.

By Post to the Aurangabad/Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Bench Registry

The Central Public Information Officer, Aurangabad Bench of the Bombay High Court, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (Aurangabad), Maharashtra.

By Post to the Panaji Bench Registry

The Central Public Information Officer, Panaji Bench of the Bombay High Court, Panaji, Goa – 403001.

Bombay High Court's Own RTI Rules

The Bombay High Court has framed its own RTI Rules under Section 28 of the RTI Act, which empowers High Courts as competent authorities to make rules for implementing the Act within their institution. These rules designate separate CPIOs for different sections of the Registry — the filing section, listing section, records room, copying section, administrative section, and HCLSC. If you know which section holds the records you need, address the application directly to the CPIO of that section. Otherwise, address it to the CPIO of the Registrar General's office; the application will be transferred internally under Section 6(3) to the correct officer.

Fee and Timeline

Application fee: ₹10 under the RTI (Regulation of Fee and Cost) Rules, 2005. Citizens holding a valid BPL (Below Poverty Line) card are exempt from this fee under Section 7(5) of the RTI Act.

Response period: 30 days from the date of receipt of the application by the CPIO, under Section 7(1) of the RTI Act, 2005. If the application is transferred to another officer, the period continues from the date of receipt at the correct office.

Urgent life and liberty matters: If the information concerns the life or liberty of a person — for example, confirming whether a bail order was passed, verifying the terms of a stay on a custody order, or establishing the conditions of release in habeas corpus proceedings — the CPIO must respond within 48 hours under the proviso to Section 7(1) of the RTI Act.

Additional fees for voluminous information: If providing the information requires photocopying, the CPIO may charge at the rate prescribed under applicable rules (typically ₹2 per page after any free-page allowance). The CPIO must communicate this in writing before charging.

First Appeal — Section 19(1)

If the CPIO:

• Does not respond within the 30-day period (or 48 hours for life and liberty matters)
• Provides an incomplete, evasive, or incorrect response
• Refuses to disclose information without adequate legal justification

you may file a First Appeal under Section 19(1) of the RTI Act with the First Appellate Authority (FAA) within the Bombay High Court — typically the Registrar General or a senior Registrar designated as FAA.

Deadline: The First Appeal must be filed within 30 days of the date of the CPIO's decision or the expiry of the 30-day response period, whichever is applicable. No fee is payable.

What to attach: A copy of the original RTI application, postal proof of dispatch and delivery (or the online registration number), and the CPIO's response if one was received.

Which FAA to approach: If the RTI was directed to the Mumbai Principal Seat CPIO, the FAA is at the Mumbai Registry. If at the Nagpur, Aurangabad, or Panaji Bench, the FAA at that bench is the appropriate first appellate authority.

The FAA must dispose of the First Appeal within 30 days of receipt, extendable to 45 days with recorded reasons.

Second Appeal — Section 19(3) and the Correct Information Commission

If the FAA also fails to respond or the response remains unsatisfactory, you may escalate to a Second Appeal under Section 19(3) of the RTI Act. Choosing the correct information commission is critical and requires understanding the structure.

For the Bombay High Court's Own Administrative Records: Maharashtra SIC

For RTI matters about the Bombay High Court's own institutional records — its Registry, administrative staff, HCLSC, budget, court procedures, pendency data, and the institutional functions of the court as a public authority — the Second Appeal must be filed with the Maharashtra State Information Commission (Maharashtra SIC), constituted under Section 15 of the RTI Act, 2005.

The Bombay High Court is a constitutional body established by Article 214 of the Constitution of India as a court for the State of Maharashtra (among others). As a state institution funded by and accountable to the Maharashtra government for its administrative functions, it is a state public authority for RTI purposes, and second appeals concerning its own administrative records go to the Maharashtra SIC. Filing a Second Appeal with the Central Information Commission (CIC) in New Delhi would be an error — the CIC has jurisdiction only over Central Government bodies and will dismiss such an appeal.

Separate Entities: Goa State Bodies and UT Bodies

This point requires careful attention: the Bombay High Court's RTI jurisdiction for its own records must not be confused with the RTI jurisdiction over other public authorities whose cases happen to come before the court.

If your RTI application is directed at a Goa state government body — for instance, the Government of Goa secretariat, a Goa PSU, or a Goa municipal council — as a respondent in litigation before the Bombay High Court, that is a separate RTI application directed at a separate public authority. Second appeals concerning Goa state bodies go to the Goa State Information Commission, not to Maharashtra SIC.

Similarly, if the subject of your RTI is a body of the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu — a UT administration, UT-level PSU, or UT statutory body — second appeals go to the Central Information Commission (CIC), because UT administrations (other than Delhi and Puducherry) are administered by the Central Government.

The Bombay High Court itself as an institution → Maharashtra SIC. A Goa state government body → Goa SIC. A UT of Dadra & NH and Daman & Diu body → CIC.

These are three different entities, each with its own RTI chain of command.

Timeline for Second Appeal: The Second Appeal must be filed within 90 days of the FAA's decision, or within 90 days of the date by which the FAA's decision should have been made.

Powers of Maharashtra SIC: On receiving a Second Appeal, the Maharashtra SIC can:

• Direct the CPIO to disclose the information that was wrongly withheld
• Impose a penalty of ₹250 per day on the CPIO for each day of unjustified default, up to a maximum of ₹25,000 under Section 20
• Recommend departmental disciplinary action against the errant CPIO
• Award compensation to the complainant where the CPIO's conduct caused loss or detriment

Penalty Under Section 20

Section 20 of the RTI Act authorises the Maharashtra State Information Commission to impose a personal fine on the CPIO who:

• Failed to respond within the statutory time without reasonable cause
• Denied information in bad faith
• Provided knowingly incorrect or misleading information
• Destroyed records that were the subject of an RTI request
• Obstructed the processing of an RTI application in any manner

The penalty is ₹250 for each day of default, up to a maximum of ₹25,000, recovered from the CPIO's personal salary — not from the court's institutional budget. This personal financial liability gives the RTI mechanism genuine enforcement teeth, even in relation to a high court registry.

Alternatives to RTI for Bombay High Court Information

Before filing RTI, consider whether your need can be met more quickly through existing public channels.

eCourts Portal and National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG)

The eCourts portal at ecourts.gov.in provides real-time case status for the Bombay High Court (including all four sittings) and all subordinate courts in Maharashtra and Goa. Search by CNR number, case type and number, party name, or advocate name to get instant status without the 30-day RTI wait. The National Judicial Data Grid at njdg.ecourts.gov.in aggregates pendency and disposal statistics across all High Courts, including the Bombay High Court; for basic pendency figures, this is faster than RTI.

Bombay High Court Official Website and Judgment Archives

The Bombay High Court maintains an official website where current cause lists, recent judgments, administrative notices, and practice directions are published. Many pronounced judgments are available as full-text downloads for free. Before filing RTI for a copy of a recent judgment, check the official website — it may already be accessible.

Direct Application for Certified Copies

The standard route for a certified copy of a pronounced order is a direct certified copy application at the Copying Section of the relevant Registry. This process has prescribed fees, forms, and timelines under the High Court Rules. RTI is the appropriate backup when this process is significantly delayed or when accountability for the delay needs to be established.

Legal Aid through the High Court Legal Services Committee

If you are an eligible person (on grounds of income, gender, disability, or other criteria) who needs free legal representation before the Bombay High Court, contact the High Court Legal Services Committee (HCLSC) directly — do not use RTI to apply for legal aid. RTI is appropriate for obtaining information about HCLSC (its policies, statistics, budget) but not as a substitute for the application process for legal services itself.

Practical Tips for Citizens Across Maharashtra, Goa, and the UTs

Identify the correct sitting before writing your application: State clearly in your application whether your case was filed at the Mumbai Principal Seat, the Nagpur Bench, the Aurangabad/Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Bench, or the Panaji Bench. This eliminates ambiguity and avoids the five-day delay caused by inter-office transfers under Section 6(3).

Use the correct and complete case number format: Include the case type abbreviation, case number, and year in the Bombay High Court's standard format. For example: WP (C) No. 12345/2023 (Mumbai), Criminal Appeal No. 678/2022 (Nagpur Bench), WP No. 456/2023 (Panaji Bench). The format may vary slightly between sittings.

Provide the exact date of the order for certified copy requests: For RTI seeking certified copies, specify the precise date on which the order was passed. A request for "all orders" in a long-running matter is overbroad and will likely result in a large page-count demand that slows the process.

Invoke the 48-hour proviso for life and liberty matters: If you need information about a bail order, habeas corpus outcome, or any order affecting personal liberty, include the sentence: "This request relates to information concerning the life and liberty of a person. I request a response within 48 hours under the proviso to Section 7(1) of the RTI Act, 2005."

Do not seek judicial deliberations: Frame all questions around records held by the Registry — dates, filing details, fees paid, cause list entries, administrative orders, HCLSC data — and not around why a judge decided a case in a particular way. Questions about the reasoning process before pronouncement will be refused under the judicial deliberation principle and Section 8(1)(b).

For Goa matters, use the Panaji Bench CPIO: RTI about cases filed at Panaji must go to the CPIO at the Panaji Bench, not to the Mumbai Principal Seat. Many Goa litigants have experienced delay because they addressed RTI to the Mumbai CPIO, which then had to transfer it to Panaji.

Note the Aurangabad Bench's renaming: If your case was filed under the older address for the Aurangabad Bench, be aware that the city was officially renamed Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in 2023. Either name may appear in official correspondence. When filing RTI, addressing the application to "CPIO, Aurangabad Bench of the Bombay High Court, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (Aurangabad)" covers both names and avoids any procedural question.

Keep all postal receipts and online registration numbers: Whether you file online or by post, retain the proof of submission. The 30-day response clock runs from the date of receipt by the CPIO, and the postal receipt or online registration number is indispensable for calculating the deadline and for filing appeals based on non-response.

Second Appeal goes to Maharashtra SIC — not CIC: This is the most common jurisdictional mistake by applicants who assume that a High Court must be a Central Government body. The Bombay High Court is a state institution for RTI purposes; its second appeal hierarchy terminates at the Maharashtra State Information Commission, not at the CIC.

For HCLSC-specific queries, identify the HCLSC section: The HCLSC is a distinct body within the High Court structure. If your RTI is specifically about HCLSC legal aid records, address it to the CPIO designated for the HCLSC section (if one is separately designated under the court's RTI Rules), or to the main Registry CPIO with a clear note that the information sought relates to HCLSC administrative records. This helps the Registry route the application correctly and reduces internal transfer delays.