21. Protection of action taken in good faith.—No suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding shall
lie against any person for anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done under this Act or
any rule made thereunder.
22. Act to have overriding effect.—The provisions of this Act shall have effect notwithstanding
anything inconsistent therewith contained in the Official Secrets Act, 1923 (19 of 1923), and any other
law for the time being in force or in any instrument having effect by virtue of any law other than this Act.
23. Bar of jurisdiction of courts.—No court shall entertain any suit, application or other proceeding
in respect of any order made under this Act and no such order shall be called in question otherwise than
by way of an appeal under this Act.
24. Act not to apply to certain organisations.—(1) Nothing contained in this Act shall apply to the
intelligence and security organisations specified in the Second Schedule, being organisations established
by the Central Government or any information furnished by such organisations to that Government:
Provided that the information pertaining to the allegations of corruption and human rights violations
shall not be excluded under this sub-section:
Provided further that in the case of information sought for is in respect of allegations of violation of
human rights, the information shall only be provided after the approval of the Central Information
Commission, and notwithstanding anything contained in section 7, such information shall be provided
within forty-five days from the date of the receipt of request.
(2) The Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, amend the Schedule by
including therein any other intelligence or security organisation established by that Government or
omitting therefrom any organisation already specified therein and on the publication of such notification,
such organisation shall be deemed to be included in or, as the case may be, omitted from the Schedule.
(3) Every notification issued under sub-section (2) shall be laid before each House of Parliament.
(4) Nothing contained in this Act shall apply to such intelligence and security organisation being
organisations established by the State Government, as that Government may, from time to time, by
notification in the Official Gazette, specify:
Provided that the information pertaining to the allegations of corruption and human rights violations
shall not be excluded under this sub-section:
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Provided further that in the case of information sought for is in respect of allegations of violation of
human rights, the information shall only be provided after the approval of the State Information
Commission and, notwithstanding anything contained in section 7, such information shall be provided
within forty-five days from the date of the receipt of request.
(5) Every notification issued under sub-section (4) shall be laid before the State Legislature.
25. Monitoring and reporting.—(1) The Central Information Commission or State Information
Commission, as the case may be, shall, as soon as practicable after the end of each year, prepare a report
on the implementation of the provisions of this Act during that year and forward a copy thereof to the
appropriate Government.
(2) Each Ministry or Department shall, in relation to the public authorities within their jurisdiction,
collect and provide such information to the Central Information Commission or State Information
Commission, as the case may be, as is required to prepare the report under this section and comply with
the requirements concerning the furnishing of that information and keeping of records for the purposes of
this section.
(3) Each report shall state in respect of the year to which the report relates,—
(a) the number of requests made to each public authority;
(b) the number of decisions where applicants were not entitled to access to the documents
pursuant to the requests, the provisions of this Act under which these decisions were made and the
number of times such provisions were invoked;
(c) the number of appeals referred to the Central Information Commission or State Information
Commission, as the case may be, for review, the nature of the appeals and the outcome of the appeals;
(d) particulars of any disciplinary action taken against any officer in respect of the administration
of this Act;
(e) the amount of charges collected by each public authority under this Act;
(f) any facts which indicate an effort by the public authorities to administer and implement the
spirit and intention of this Act;
(g) recommendations for reform, including recommendations in respect of the particular public
authorities, for the development, improvement, modernisation, reform or amendment to this Act or
other legislation or common law or any other matter relevant for operationalising the right to access
information.
(4) The Central Government or the State Government, as the case may be, may, as soon as practicable
after the end of each year, cause a copy of the report of the Central Information Commission or the State
Information Commission, as the case may be, referred to in sub-section (1) to be laid before each House
of Parliament or, as the case may be, before each House of the State Legislature, where there are two
Houses, and where there is one House of the State Legislature before that House.
(5) If it appears to the Central Information Commission or State Information Commission, as the case
may be, that the practice of a public authority in relation to the exercise of its functions under this Act
does not conform with the provisions or spirit of this Act, it may give to the authority a recommendation
specifying the steps which ought in its opinion to be taken for promoting such conformity.
26. Appropriate Government to prepare programmes.—(1) The appropriate Government may, to
the extent of availability of financial and other resources,—
(a) develop and organise educational programmes to advance the understanding of the public, in
particular of disadvantaged communities as to how to exercise the rights contemplated under this Act;
(b) encourage public authorities to participate in the development and organisation of
programmes referred to in clause (a) and to undertake such programmes themselves;
(c) promote timely and effective dissemination of accurate information by public authorities
about their activities; and
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(d) train Central Public Information Officers or State Public Information Officers, as the case may
be, of public authorities and produce relevant training materials for use by the public authorities
themselves.
(2) The appropriate Government shall, within eighteen months from the commencement of this Act,
compile in its official language a guide containing such information, in an easily comprehensible form
and manner, as may reasonably be required by a person who wishes to exercise any right specified in this
Act.
(3) The appropriate Government shall, if necessary, update and publish the guidelines referred to in
sub-section (2) at regular intervals which shall, in particular and without prejudice to the generality of
sub-section (2), include—
(a) the objects of this Act;
(b) the postal and street address, the phone and fax number and, if available, electronic mail
address of the Central Public Information Officer or State Public Information Officer, as the case may
be, of every public authority appointed under sub-section (1) of section 5;
(c) the manner and the form in which request for access to an information shall be made to a
Central Public Information Officer or State Public Information Officer, as the case may be;
(d) the assistance available from and the duties of the Central Public Information Officer or State
Public Information Officer, as the case may be, of a public authority under this Act;
(e) the assistance available from the Central Information Commission or State Information
Commission, as the case may be;
(f) all remedies in law available regarding an act or failure to act in respect of a right or duty
conferred or imposed by this Act including the manner of filing an appeal to the Commission;
(g) the provisions providing for the voluntary disclosure of categories of records in accordance
with section 4;
(h) the notices regarding fees to be paid in relation to requests for access to an information; and
(i) any additional regulations or circulars made or issued in relation to obtaining access to an
information in accordance with this Act.
(4) The appropriate Government must, if necessary, update and publish the guidelines at regular
intervals.
27. Power to make rules by appropriate Government.—(1) The appropriate Government may, by
notification in the Official Gazette, make rules to carry out the provisions of this Act.
(2) In particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such rules may
provide for all or any of the following matters, namely:—
(a) the cost of the medium or print cost price of the materials to be disseminated under
sub-section (4) of section 4;
(b) the fee payable under sub-section (1) of section 6;
(c) the fee payable under sub-sections (1) and (5) of section 7;
1
[(ca) the term of office of the Chief Information Commissioner and Information Commissioners
under sub-sections (1) and (2) of section 13 and the State Chief Information Commissioner and State
Information Commissioners under sub-sections (1) and (2) of section 16;
(cb) the salaries, allowances and other terms and conditions of service of the Chief Information
Commissioner and the Information Commissioners under sub-section (5) of section 13 and the State
Chief Information Commissioner and the State Information Commissioners under sub-section (5) of
section 16;]
1. Ins. by Act 24 of 2019, s. 4 (w.e.f. 24-10-2019).
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(d) the salaries and allowances payable to and the terms and conditions of service of the officers
and other employees under sub-section (6) of section 13 and sub-section (6) of section 16;
(e) the procedure to be adopted by the Central Information Commission or State Information
Commission, as the case may be, in deciding the appeals under sub-section (10) of section 19; and
(f) any other matter which is required to be, or may be, prescribed.
28. Power to make rules by competent authority.—(1) The competent authority may, by
notification in the Official Gazette, make rules to carry out the provisions of this Act.
(2) In particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such rules may
provide for all or any of the following matters, namely:—
(i) the cost of the medium or print cost price of the materials to be disseminated under
sub-section (4) of section 4;
(ii) the fee payable under sub-section (1) of section 6;
(iii) the fee payable under sub-section (1) of section 7; and
(iv) any other matter which is required to be, or may be, prescribed.
29. Laying of rules.—(1) Every rule made by the Central Government under this Act shall be laid, as
soon as may be after it is made, before each House of Parliament, while it is in session, for a total period
of thirty days which may be comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions, and if,
before the expiry of the session immediately following the session or the successive sessions aforesaid,
both Houses agree in making any modification in the rule or both Houses agree that the rule should not be
made, the rule shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may
be; so, however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of
anything previously done under that rule.
(2) Every rule made under this Act by a State Government shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is
notified, before the State Legislature.
30. Power to remove difficulties.—(1) If any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of
this Act, the Central Government may, by order published in the Official Gazette, make such provisions
not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act as appear to it to be necessary or expedient for removal of
the difficulty:
Provided that no such order shall be made after the expiry of a period of two years from the date of
the commencement of this Act.
(2) Every order made under this section shall, as soon as may be after it is made, be laid before each
House of Parliament.
31. Repeal.—The Freedom of Information Act, 2002 (5 of 2003) is hereby repealed.