Photo Source: Babushahi Bureau
Haryana Govt issues strict directive on acceptance and processing of RTI applications
Babushahi Bureau
Chandigarh, October 1, 2025 – The Haryana Government has directed all State Public Information Officers (SPIOs) posted in the Haryana Civil Secretariat to strictly accept and process Right to Information (RTI) applications transferred by the RTI Cell, Office of the Chief Secretary.
A letter in this regard has been issued by Chief Secretary Anurag Rastogi.
The directive comes in response to repeated instances where certain SPIOs have been refusing to accept such applications, despite the matters clearly falling within their jurisdiction. This practice has been seen as a violation of the spirit of the RTI Act, 2005, and detrimental to the transparency framework.
As per Section 6(3) of the RTI Act, if an application pertains to another authority, the concerned SPIO is required to transfer it directly to the relevant officer, rather than returning it to the RTI Cell.
The government has warned that any future refusal by SPIOs to accept transferred RTI applications will be taken seriously and may be reported to the State Information Commission under Section 20 of the RTI Act. Individual SPIOs will be held personally responsible for any penalties or adverse observations made by the Commission in such cases.
The letter has emphasized that this directive must be implemented in letter and spirit, without exception, to uphold transparency and accountability in governance.
Notably, the RTI Cell was constituted in the Office of the Chief Secretary, Haryana, with the specific mandate to handle all RTI applications addressed to the Chief Secretary.
The core function of the RTI Cell is to examine each application and transfer it to the appropriate department or SPIO under whose jurisdiction the information sought falls, in accordance with the provisions of Section 6(3) of the RTI Act, 2005.
This directive reinforces the government's commitment to ensuring that citizens' right to information is respected and facilitated through proper channels, without bureaucratic hurdles or delays.