Terms and Conditions

These Terms and Conditions govern the use of RTI Sathi's services. By submitting a case or making a payment, you agree to the terms set out below. Please read them carefully before proceeding.

2. What RTI Sathi Does

RTI Sathi provides end-to-end assistance with Right to Information (RTI) applications under the Right to Information Act, 2005. Our service includes:

• Researching the correct Public Authority, Ministry, Department, and Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) for your matter.
• Drafting a legally compliant RTI application in the format required under Section 6 of the RTI Act, 2005.
• Filing the application on the appropriate official government portal on your behalf.
• Tracking the status of your application and keeping you informed of developments.
• Assisting with First Appeals (Section 19(1)) and Second Appeals (Section 19(3)) as separate paid services.

3. Our Service Commitment

We are committed to drafting the most accurate, specific, and legally sound RTI application possible for your case. Once your application is filed, we will send you the RTI registration number and tracking details so you can monitor the application independently. We also track your application status from our side and will proactively reach out if action is required.

We make every reasonable effort to ensure the RTI is addressed to the correct authority and framed in a way that maximises the likelihood of a useful response.

4. What We Cannot Guarantee

The Right to Information Act, 2005 obligates the government to respond — but it does not obligate the government to provide the information you seek. The following outcomes are outside our control and are not covered by our service commitment:

• Whether the government responds at all, or within the statutory 30-day period.
• The quality or completeness of the government's response.
• Whether the information exists in the form requested.
• Whether the information is exempt under Section 8 of the RTI Act (e.g. national security, personal privacy, commercial confidence, ongoing investigation). We will advise you if your request is likely to encounter an exemption, but we cannot guarantee disclosure.

If the government does not respond or gives an unsatisfactory response, your remedy is a First Appeal and, if necessary, a Second Appeal — both of which we can assist with.

5. Timeline After Filing

Under Section 7(1) of the RTI Act, the government has 30 days from the date the CPIO receives your application to respond. Once your RTI is filed, you must allow this full period before taking any further action. In practice, responses often arrive within 2–4 weeks.

If no response is received within 30 days, this constitutes a deemed refusal under Section 7(2) and your right to file a First Appeal is triggered. The First Appeal must be filed within 30 days of the deemed refusal. If you wish RTI Sathi to file the First Appeal, please contact us promptly — do not wait.

6. Fee Structure

Our fee (₹149 + 18% GST) is charged for our research, consultation, RTI drafting, and filing assistance. It is not the government's RTI application fee.

Under the RTI (Regulation of Fee and Cost) Rules, 2005, a separate application fee of ₹10 is payable to the government when filing an RTI. This ₹10 is paid directly to the government portal as part of the filing process and is not included in our service fee.

• RTI Application: ₹149 + 18% GST (our fee) + ₹10 (government fee, paid at filing).
• First Appeal: ₹199 + 18% GST (our fee). No fee is payable to the government for appeals.
• Second Appeal: ₹199 + 18% GST (our fee). No fee is payable to the government for appeals.

You pay our fee only after the RTI draft is prepared and you have reviewed it. We never charge upfront.

7. Refund Policy

Once you have paid our fee and we have filed the RTI on the government portal, the fee is non-refundable. At that point, the service has been fully rendered: the research is done, the draft is prepared, and the application is on record with the government.

If, for any reason, we are unable to file your RTI — for example, because the matter falls outside our jurisdictional scope or because a government portal is unavailable — we will issue a full refund and explain why we cannot proceed.

8. Your Responsibilities

To ensure your RTI is effective, you agree to:

• Provide accurate information. The quality of your RTI depends on the accuracy of the facts you share with us. We draft based on what you tell us. If you provide incorrect or incomplete information and the RTI misses the mark, we cannot be held responsible.
• Be an Indian citizen. The Right to Information Act, 2005 (Section 3) grants this right exclusively to Indian citizens. By using our service, you confirm that you are an Indian citizen.
• Respond promptly to our communications. We may need clarification, your approval of a draft, or action from your end (such as deciding whether to file an appeal). Delays in responding may affect time-sensitive deadlines.
• Provide correct contact details. We communicate updates, filing confirmations, and alerts via the email and phone number you register. Ensure these are accurate.

9. Geographical Scope

RTI Sathi files RTI applications across India, covering:

• Central Government bodies — filed via rtionline.gov.in; second appeal to the Central Information Commission (CIC).
• All State Government bodies — filed via the respective state's RTI portal; second appeal to the relevant State Information Commission (SIC).

Each state operates its own RTI portal and State Information Commission. We identify the correct portal and authority for your matter regardless of which state government body is involved.

10. Appeal Services

First Appeals and Second Appeals are separate paid services (₹199 + 18% GST each). They are not included in the original RTI filing fee.

Appeal deadlines under the RTI Act are strict:

• First Appeal (Section 19(1)): Must be filed within 30 days of the CPIO's decision or expiry of the 30-day response period.
• Second Appeal (Section 19(3)): Must be filed within 90 days of the First Appellate Authority's decision or expiry of their disposal period.

If you come to us after these windows have passed, the authority may still admit a delayed appeal if sufficient cause is shown — but this is not guaranteed. Contact us as early as possible to avoid losing your appeal rights.

11. Not Legal Advice

RTI Sathi is a research and filing assistance service. We are not a law firm and do not provide legal advice or legal representation. Our service is limited to identifying the correct public authority, drafting RTI applications, and filing them on the government portal.

If your matter involves a pending court case, criminal proceedings, or requires formal legal representation, we recommend consulting a qualified advocate in addition to, or instead of, using our service.

12. Right to Decline

We reserve the right to decline a case at our discretion, including but not limited to cases that:

• Appear to seek personal or private information about a third party in a manner inconsistent with the RTI Act (Section 8(1)(j)).
• Appear to be frivolous, vexatious, or intended to harass a government official or a private individual.
• Fall outside the jurisdiction of Central Government or State Government bodies across India.
• Require information that is clearly and entirely exempt under Section 8 or Section 24 of the RTI Act.

If we decline your case before filing, no fee will be charged.

13. Government Portal Dependency

Our filing service depends on the availability and correct functioning of government-operated portals — primarily rtionline.gov.in and rti.delhi.gov.in. These portals are maintained by the Government of India and the Government of NCT of Delhi respectively.

We are not responsible for delays, failures, or errors caused by government portal outages, technical maintenance, or changes in the government's filing systems. If a portal is unavailable at the time of filing, we will keep you informed and file as soon as the portal is operational again.

14. Privacy and Data

The information you share with us — your name, contact details, and case description — is handled in accordance with our Privacy Policy. In summary: we do not sell your data, we only share what is necessary with the government portal to file your RTI, and we store your documents securely.

15. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. The date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision. Continued use of our service after any changes constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.