Definitions
Commencement. Ss. 4(1), 5(1) (2), 12, 13, 15, 16, 24, 27, 28 (15-06-2005) and rest provisions on 120th day of its enactment.
Section 2 of the Right to Information Act, 2005 deals with definitions. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-- (a) "appropriate Government" means in relation to a public authority which is established, constituted, owned, controlled or substantially financed by funds provided directly or indirectly-- (i) by the Central Government or the Union territory ad The Act was enacted on 15 Jun 2005.
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,--
(a) "appropriate Government" means in relation to a public authority which is established, constituted, owned, controlled or substantially financed by funds provided directly or indirectly--
(i) by the Central Government or the Union territory administration, the Central Government;
(ii) by the State Government, the State Government;
(b) "Central Information Commission" means the Central Information Commission constituted under sub-section (1) of section 12;
(c) "Central Public Information Officer" means the Central Public Information Officer designated under sub-section (1) and includes a Central Assistant Public Information Officer designated as such under sub-section (2) of section 5;
(d) "Chief Information Commissioner" and "Information Commissioner" mean the Chief Information Commissioner and Information Commissioner appointed under sub-section (3) of section 12;
(e) "competent authority" means--
(i) the Speaker in the case of the House of the People or the Legislative Assembly of a State or a Union territory having such Assembly and the Chairman in the case of the Council of States or Legislative Council of a State;
(ii) the Chief Justice of India in the case of the Supreme Court;
(iii) the Chief Justice of the High Court in the case of a High Court;
(iv) the President or the Governor, as the case may be, in the case of other authorities established or constituted by or under the Constitution;
(v) the administrator appointed under article 239 of the Constitution;
(f) "information" means any material in any form, including records, documents, memos, e-mails, opinions, advices, press releases, circulars, orders, logbooks, contracts, reports, papers, samples, models, data material held in any electronic form and information relating to any private body which can be accessed by a public authority under any other law for the time being in force;
(g) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act by the appropriate Government or the competent authority, as the case may be;
(h) "public authority" means any authority or body or institution of self- government established or constituted--
(a) by or under the Constitution;
(b) by any other law made by Parliament;
(c) by any other law made by State Legislature;
(d) by notification issued or order made by the appropriate Government,
and includes any--
(i) body owned, controlled or substantially financed;
(ii) non-Government organisation substantially financed,
directly or indirectly by funds provided by the appropriate Government;
(i) "record" includes--
(a) any document, manuscript and file;
(b) any microfilm, microfiche and facsimile copy of a document;
(c) any reproduction of image or images embodied in such microfilm (whether enlarged or not); and
(d) any other material produced by a computer or any other device;
(j) "right to information" means the right to information accessible under this Act which is held by or under the control of any public authority and includes the right to--
(i) inspection of work, documents, records;
(ii) taking notes, extracts or certified copies of documents or records;
(iii) taking certified samples of material;
(iv) obtaining information in the form of diskettes, floppies, tapes, video cassettes or in any other electronic mode or through printouts where such information is stored in a computer or in any other device;
(k) "State Information Commission" means the State Information Commission constituted under sub-section (1) of section 15;
(l) "State Chief Information Commissioner" and "State Information Commissioner" mean the State Chief Information Commissioner and the State Information Commissioner appointed under subsection (3) of section 15;
(m) "State Public Information Officer" means the State Public Information Officer designated under sub-section (1) and includes a State Assistant Public Information Officer designated as such under sub-section (2) of section 5;
(n) "third party" means a person other than the citizen making a request for information and includes a public authority.
Section 2, The Right to Information Act, 2005 (Act 22 of 2005).
Cross-references
Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.
This section refers to
Referred to by 7
- Footwear Design and Development Institute Act s. 34 Institute to be public authority under the Right to Information Act, 2005
- Indian Institute of Management Act s. 33 Institute to be public authority under Right to Information Act
- Indian Institutes of Information Technology Act s. 47 Institute to be public authority under Right to Information Act
- Indian Institutes of Information Technology (Public-private Partnership) Act s. 45 Institute to be public authority under Right to Information Act
- National Institutes of Design Act s. 37 Institute to be public authority under Right to Information Act, 2005
- School of Planning and Architecture Act s. 41 School to be public authority under Right to Information, Act, 2005
- University of Visvesvaraya College of Engineering Act s. 48
Related judgements & precedents
These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.
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Thalappalam Ser. Coop. Bank Ltd. v. State of Kerala
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
A co-operative society is not a 'public authority' under RTI Act s.2(h) merely because it is registered or regulated; the test is whether it is owned, controlled or substantially financed by government. RTI s.3 right to information therefore does not automatically run against co-operative societies. Use Judgement order-9.pdf (2013-10-07), not same-date order-10 ROP.
On this section: s.2(h) 'public authority' does not automatically cover a registered/regulated co-operative society without government ownership, control or substantial finance.
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CPIO, Supreme Court of India v. Subhash Chandra Agarwal
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Office of the Chief Justice of India is a public authority. Collegium correspondence and judges personal-asset information are accessible subject to s.8 privacy balancing. Constitution Bench.
On this section: CJI/Supreme Court administration is a s.2(h) public authority.
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Central Board of Secondary Education v. Aditya Bandopadhyay
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Evaluated answer-books are information held by a public authority. s.8 exemptions are construed strictly; examinees have a right to inspect their own evaluated scripts subject to limited fiduciary/copyright caveats.
On this section: Evaluated answer-books fall within s.2(f) information and s.2(j) right to information.
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Malappuram District Co. Op. Bank LTD vs State Information Commission
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Cooperative societies registered under state cooperative societies acts are not public authorities under Section 2(h) of the Right to Information Act, 2005, unless they satisfy one of the statutory tests: (a) are established or constituted by Constitution, Parliament law, State Legislature law, or executive notification; or (b) are owned by the appropriate government; or (c) are controlled by the appropriate government with substantial control (not mere supervisory/regulatory control) over management and affairs; or (d) are substantially financed, directly or indirectly, by funds provided by the appropriate government (meaning actual, existing, positive and real financing to substantial extent where body practically runs by such funding). The determination of whether a particular cooperative society meets these tests is a question of fact to be examined by the State Information Commission or Central Information Commission when disputed, on evidence. The burden of proof lies on the applicant seeking information or the government to demonstrate that a society satisfies one of these tests.
On this section: Central provision defining 'public authority' - interpreted to be exhaustive definition covering only specified categories: (1) bodies established by Constitution/Parliament/State Legislature/executive notification, (2) bodies owned/controlled/substantially financed by government, (3) NGOs substantially financed by government
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Inst. of Chartered Accountants of India vs Shaunak H Sayta
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Intellectual property exemption under Section 8(1)(d) of RTI Act is temporal in nature and applies only to information the disclosure of which would competitively harm third parties at the time of disclosure. Once an examination is held, evaluated, and results declared, examination instructions, solutions, and model answers no longer harm the competitive position of any third party and therefore cease to be exempted. Information held by a person in fiduciary capacity is exempted under Section 8(1)(e), but this exemption is conditional and subject to larger public interest override. Examining bodies must disclose standards and criteria for mark moderation to maintain accountability and fairness, but need not compile data not maintained in their records. Administrative workload and burden do not justify denial of RTI requests; public authorities must adapt to transparency obligations.
On this section: Scope of information covered under RTI Act and what constitutes right to information held by public authorities
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Aseer Jamal vs Union of India Thr. the Secretary Ministry of Personnel Public Grievances and Pensions
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
The Right to Information Act 2005, as constituted and supplemented by its Rules, contains adequate statutory provisions to ensure accessible information for illiterate persons, visually impaired persons, persons below poverty line, and other differently abled persons. Section 6(1) proviso makes it mandatory for Public Information Officers to assist oral applicants in reducing requests to writing. Section 6(3) allows appropriate transfer of applications. Rule 5 exempts BPL persons from fees. Existing implementation including Braille conversion, audio files, multiple payment modes, and toll-free assistance demonstrate that accessibility concerns can be effectively addressed within the existing framework. Rather than declaring constitutional invalidity or imposing new mandatory directions, the appropriate remedy is to grant liberty to affected persons to submit representations regarding additional accessibility modes and to direct authorities to explore advanced technology and deal sympathetically with such requests.
On this section: Court examined the statutory definition of right to information which includes rights to inspection of documents, taking certified copies, samples, and obtaining information in electronic formats to demonstrate breadth of access mechanisms
The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.
Made under this section, and citing it
1 instrument names this provision in its title or its text without being made under it.
Questions about Section 2
What have the courts held on Section 2 of the Right to Information Act?
Thalappalam Ser. Coop. Bank Ltd. v. State of Kerala (07 Oct 2013) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: s.2(h) 'public authority' does not automatically cover a registered/regulated co-operative society without government ownership, control or substantial finance. Another 5 judgments on this section are set out below, all of them from the Supreme Court. They run from 2011 to 2019.
How do I find court cases under Section 2 of the Right to Information Act?
In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: RTI Act 2, section 2 RTI Act, section 2 of the Right to Information Act. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 6 reported judgments on this section are set out on this page, beginning with Thalappalam Ser. Coop. Bank Ltd. v. State of Kerala (07 Oct 2013).
What should I read with Section 2 of the Right to Information Act, and has it changed?
Its own text turns on section 5 (Designation of Public Information Officers), section 12 (Constitution of Central Information Commission), section 15 (Constitution of State Information Commission), so none of them can safely be read on its own. 7 other provisions in this corpus refer back to it. One instrument names it without being made under it, most recently The Right to Information (Term of Office, Salaries, Allowances and Other Terms and Conditions of Service of Chief Information Commissioner, Information Commissioners in the Central Information Commission, State Chief Information Commissioner and State Information Commissioners in the State Information Commission) Rules, 2019 (2019).
When was Section 2 of the Right to Information Act enacted?
Section 2 of the Right to Information Act, cited as RTI Act 2, was enacted on 15 Jun 2005 as Act 22 of 2005. It is in force as at the date shown on this page.
Other sections of this Act
- 19. Appeal669 words
- 7. Disposal of request657 words
- 4. Obligations of public authorities643 words
- 13. Terms of office and conditions of service530 words
- 8. Exemption from disclosure of information520 words
- 18. Powers and functions of Information Commissions473 words
Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Text as in force on 14 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.