Public Authority
Section 2(h), RTI Act 2005
A “public authority” is any body the RTI Act covers — established by the Constitution, by a law, or by a government notification, including bodies owned, controlled or substantially financed by the government, and NGOs substantially financed by it.
Section 2(h) defines a public authority very widely. It covers any authority, body or institution of self-government established or constituted by or under the Constitution, by a law of Parliament or a State Legislature, or by a government notification — and also bodies owned, controlled or substantially financed by the government, and non-government organisations substantially financed by it.
In practice this means ministries, government departments, PSUs, municipal corporations, panchayats, government schools, colleges and hospitals, and substantially-financed NGOs are all answerable under RTI. Purely private bodies are generally not covered directly — but information that a public authority can lawfully access from a private body can still be sought through that public authority.
Key points
- Defined in Section 2(h) — bodies set up by the Constitution, a law, or a notification.
- Includes government-owned, controlled or substantially-financed bodies.
- Substantially-financed NGOs are covered too.
- Private firms are usually outside RTI, but info held about them by a public authority can be sought.
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This is a plain-English summary of the Right to Information Act, 2005 for general understanding — educational, not legal advice. For a specific case, the exact wording of the Act and your facts matter.
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