Quick answer: Yes — you can obtain a certified copy of your evaluated answer sheet under the RTI Act, 2005. File a ₹10 RTI to the examining body's PIO; the reply is due in 30 days. Below: the law, the exact application, fees and what to do after.
The Law: Your Answer Sheet Is "Information"
In CBSE v. Aditya Bandopadhyay (2011), the Supreme Court held that an evaluated answer book is "information" under the RTI Act, 2005, and that an examinee is entitled to inspect and obtain a certified copy of their own evaluated answer sheet. Every examining body that is a public authority — school boards, universities, recruitment commissions and statutory institutes — is therefore bound to provide it on a proper RTI request. This is the legal backbone of every application below.
RTI Facts at a Glance
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| RTI application fee | ₹10 (BPL applicants exempt) |
| Copy of answer sheet | ~₹2 per page (some bodies set a fixed certified-copy charge) |
| Reply deadline | 30 days — Section 7(1), RTI Act 2005 |
| If no/poor reply | First Appeal within 30 days — Section 19(1) |
| Final appeal | Second Appeal within 90 days to the Central/State Information Commission — Section 19(3) |
| Where to file | O/o the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), Examination Department. |
How ICAI Answer-Sheet Access Works
ICAI is a statutory body and a public authority under the RTI Act. It runs a certified-copies and verification-of-answer-books scheme with its own windows and fees; RTI is your parallel statutory route, backed by the Bandopadhyay precedent, to obtain the same evaluated answer books — useful where the institute's window has closed or a verification result looks inconsistent with your expectations.
Full Sample RTI Application You Can Adapt
To,
The Public Information Officer (PIO),
O/o the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), Examination Department.
Subject: Information under the RTI Act, 2005 — certified copy of my evaluated answer sheet and related records.
Under Section 6(1) of the RTI Act, 2005, I request a certified copy of my evaluated answer books and related records for the examination below:
- Registration No. & Roll No.: [____], Level (Foundation/Intermediate/Final): [____], Group & Attempt: [____], Paper(s): [____].
- A certified copy of my evaluated answer books for the above paper(s).
- The step-wise marks awarded and the model/marking scheme used.
- Whether verification of marks was carried out for my paper(s) and its outcome.
As held in CBSE v. Aditya Bandopadhyay (2011), the evaluated answer book is information accessible under the Act. I enclose the RTI fee of ₹10.
Yours faithfully,
[Name] · [Roll/Registration No.] · [Address] · [Phone] · [Date]
Prefer it done for you? Our in-house legal team identifies the correct PIO, drafts and files the RTI, and tracks the reply — from ₹399.
What a Useful Reply Should Contain
A proper reply should provide the certified copy of your evaluated answer sheet, the question/step-wise marks, and the marking scheme. A reply that withholds the script or ignores questions without a valid Section 8/9 exemption likely needs a First Appeal.
What RTI Can and Cannot Do
RTI can: get your evaluated answer sheet, marks, marking scheme and verification records. RTI cannot: by itself change your marks — but the answer sheet it obtains is the evidence you need for verification, re-evaluation, or an appeal.
Common Questions
Can I get my CA answer sheet through RTI?
Yes. ICAI is a public authority, so under the Bandopadhyay precedent you can obtain a certified copy of your evaluated answer books on an RTI request, reply due in 30 days.
ICAI already has a certified-copies scheme — why RTI?
Use the institute scheme if its window is open. RTI is the statutory fallback if the window has closed, you were refused, or a verification result looks off.
What does it cost?
The RTI fee is ₹10; copying is per page. Our service starts at ₹399.
Can RTI change my result?
No. RTI gets you the evaluated answer books and marking scheme; any change of marks is via verification, for which the answer book is your evidence.
What if ICAI does not reply in 30 days?
File a First Appeal under Section 19(1); we draft it free if a department misses the deadline on an RTI we filed.
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