Eight statutory clocks govern an RTI from filing to Second Appeal: 30 days (PIO disposal), 48 hours (life-and-liberty), 5 days (§6(3) transfer), 10 days (§11 third-party notice), 30 days (First Appeal filing), 30+15=45 days (FAA disposal), 90 days (Second Appeal filing), Rs 250/day delay penalty. A PIO who misses the 30-day window must supply information free of further charge; an FAA's silence beyond 45 days is directly appealable. Every applicant and every PIO should keep this one-page table taped above their desk.

→ Use the RTI Timeline Calculator to compute your specific deadlines with dates.

The §7(1) 30-day clock runs from the date the PIO receives the RTI — not the date the applicant posted it, and not the date the applicant's fee was paid (unless the PIO invoked §7(3) fee intimation). For §6(3) transferred applications, the clock re-starts at the receiving PIO.

The §7(1) proviso for life-and-liberty RTIs is real. A PIO who receives an RTI on behalf of a hospital-admission-pending patient and sits on it for 30 days is personally liable under §20. The 48 hours are hours, not working-days.

When a third party is involved, the 40-day disposal window is strict:

• Days 1-10: PIO issues §11 notice to the third party
• Days 11-20: Third party responds (or doesn't)
• Days 21-40: PIO decides on disclosure and communicates to the applicant

A PIO who waits till day 28 to issue a §11 notice has lost the ability to honour the 40-day window. That's §20 territory.

§19(6) gives the FAA 30 days as default. The extension to 45 days is conditional — the FAA must record written reasons for the extension. An FAA who silently takes 45 days is acting outside §19(6); that's Second-Appeal-ready on procedural grounds.

§19(3) gives you 90 days for Second Appeal — three times the First Appeal window. This is often misremembered. The start date is:

• Date of FAA decision (if delivered), OR
• Expiry of 45 days after First Appeal filing (deemed FAA refusal)

Pick the later date, subtract 90, that's your deadline.

You (applicant) act:

1. File First Appeal immediately under §19(1) — treat silence as deemed refusal under §7(2).
2. Claim §7(6) — request all further information free of fees.
3. Flag §20 exposure: mention the specific number of days of delay in your First Appeal so the FAA can refer for penalty.

You (applicant) act:

1. Demand (via First Appeal if needed) the date of transfer AND date of receipt at transferee.
2. If transfer took >5 days, point to transferring PIO's §20 exposure.

You (applicant) act:

1. Treat it as deemed rejection.
2. File Second Appeal directly to the CIC/SIC under §19(3) without waiting for the FAA order.
3. In Second Appeal, raise both the substantive denial and the §19(6) procedural lapse.

You can still act:

1. File with a written explanation of the “sufficient cause” — illness, address change, loss of PIO order, bereavement.
2. The FAA (§19(1) proviso) and the Commission (§19(3)) have discretionary power to condone delay.
3. Attach documentary proof of the cause (medical certificate, address-change receipt).

• “Deemed refusal under §7(2) has occurred as of [date].” — open a First Appeal with this line.
• “The §7(3) fee intimation dated [date] stopped the clock; it re-started on [date of payment].” — use in any dispute about the 30-day count.
• “The §11 third-party procedure was required and was not followed; the final PIO order is vitiated under the Muniyappan standard.” — for FAA/Second Appeal if §11 was skipped.
• “The FAA extended disposal beyond 30 days without recording written reasons as required by §19(6).” — procedural challenge to late FAA order.

• RTI Timeline Calculator — enter your dates, see your deadlines
• First Appeal timelines — full guide
• Deemed refusal under §7(2)
• PIO RTI Reply Guide
• RTI Act §7 — annotated
• RTI Act §19 — annotated

Posted: 22 April 2026 · Author: Shrawan Pathak, Editor RTI Wiki