Public authority
Under Section 2(h) of the RTI Act, a body set up by the Constitution, a law or a government notification, including bodies owned, controlled or substantially financed by government.
Explained
Section 2(h) of the Right to Information Act, 2005 defines public authority as any authority or body or institution of self-government established or constituted by or under the Constitution, by any other law made by Parliament, by any other law made by a State Legislature, or by notification issued or order made by the appropriate Government. It also includes any body owned, controlled or substantially financed, and any non-Government organisation substantially financed, directly or indirectly, by funds provided by the appropriate Government.
The definition has two parts. The first catches bodies by their origin: the Constitution, a statute or a government notification. The second catches bodies by their relationship with government: ownership, control or substantial financing. A private body or an NGO is therefore a public authority only if it falls within the second part, and whether financing is substantial is a question of fact in each case.
The status carries the obligations of the Act. Under Section 4, every public authority must maintain its records and publish specified information proactively. Under Section 5, it must designate Public Information Officers in its administrative units. Under Section 7, a request must be disposed of within thirty days, and within forty-eight hours where the information concerns the life or liberty of a person. The right to information under Section 2(j) is the right to information held by or under the control of a public authority.
Examiners test the categories in Section 2(h), the inclusion of substantially financed NGOs, and the time limits that bind public authorities. The expression is used in other statutes too, but the RTI meaning is the one most often asked.
What the law says
(h) “public authority” means any authority or body or institution of self- government established or constituted—
(a) by or under the Constitution;
(b) by any other law made by Parliament;
(c) by any other law made by State Legislature;
(d) by notification issued or order made by the appropriate Government,
Clause (h) defines public authority; clause (j) right to information
(1) Every public authority shall—
(a) maintain all its records duly catalogued and indexed in a manner and the form which facilitates the right to information under this Act and ensure that all records that are appropriate to be computerised are, within a reasonable time and subject to availability of resources, computerised and connected through a network all over the country on different systems so that access to such records is facilitated;
(b) publish within one hundred and twenty days from the enactment of this Act,—
Obligations of public authorities
(1) Every public authority shall, within one hundred days of the enactment of this Act, designate as many officers as the Central Public Information Officers or State Public Information Officers, as the case may be, in all administrative units or offices under it as may be necessary to provide information to persons requesting for the information under this Act.
(2) Without prejudice to the provisions of sub-section (1), every public authority shall designate an officer, within one hundred days of the enactment of this Act, at each sub-divisional level or other sub-district level as a Central Assistant Public Information Officer or a State Assistant Public Information Officer, as the case may be, to receive the applications for information or appeals under this Act for forwarding the same forthwith to the Central Public Information Officer or the State Public Information Officer or senior officer specified under sub-section (1) of section 19 or the Central Information Commission or the State Information Commission, as the case may be:
Provided that where an application for information or appeal is given to a Central Assistant Public Information Officer or a State Assistant Public Information Officer, as the case may be, a period of five days shall be added in computing the period for response specified under sub-section (1) of section 7.
Designation of Public Information Officers
(6) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (5), the person making request for the information shall be provided the information free of charge where a public authority fails to comply with the time limits specified in sub-section (1).
(7) Before taking any decision under sub-section (1), the Central Public Information Officer or State Public Information Officer, as the case may be, shall take into consideration the representation made by a third party under section 11.
(8) Where a request has been rejected under sub-section (1), the Central Public Information Officer or State Public Information Officer, as the case may be, shall communicate to the person making the request,—
Time limits for disposal of requests
For the exam
- Section 2(h) RTI: bodies created by the Constitution, Central or State law, or government notification.
- Includes bodies owned, controlled or substantially financed by the appropriate Government.
- NGOs substantially financed, directly or indirectly, by government funds are included.
- Section 7: reply within 30 days; 48 hours where life or liberty is involved.
- Section 5: every public authority must designate PIOs.
41 questions in the Law Maker question bank use this term. Practise Administrative Law questions
Related terms
- Right to informationThe right of every citizen to information held by or under the control of a public authority, including inspection, notes, certified copies, samples and electronic copies (Section 2(j), RTI Act, 2005).
- InformationUnder Section 2(1)(v) of the IT Act, 2000, information includes data, message, text, images, sound, voice, codes, computer programmes, software, databases, micro film and computer generated micro fiche.
- The State (Article 12)For Part III of the Constitution, the Government and Parliament of India, the Government and Legislature of each State, and all local or other authorities in India or under the control of the Government of India.
- Public officerA person falling within the eight descriptions in Section 2(17) of the CPC, such as every Judge, members of an All-India Service and officers in the service or pay of the Government.
Further reading
Checked 6 November 2026. Statutory text is quoted from the Bare Acts library, taken from India Code. See the full glossary.