Times of India: Hyderabad: Sunday, 7 September 2025.
The Telangana high court
has clarified that information under the Right to Information (RTI) Act must be
provided free of cost to applicants from below poverty line (BPL) families.
Justice T Madhavi Devi issued the ruling while hearing a petition seeking
details of beneficiaries under the Indiramma housing scheme.
The authorities did not dispute the applicant's request but directed him to pay ₹6,171 towards printing expenses. Justice Madhavi held that "since the Act mandates that persons in the BPL category are entitled to information free of cost, the information must be furnished to the petitioner."
The petition was filed by Gadipally Ganesh, a law student from Narsimhulapet village in Mahabubabad district. Ganesh claimed eligibility for the Indiramma scheme but found his name missing from the beneficiary list. He filed an RTI application seeking details of beneficiaries, eligibility criteria, and applications, alleging that deserving persons were denied benefits.
When asked to pay the printing fee, Ganesh filed appeals with the First Appellate Authority and later the Telangana Information Commission, both of which rejected his plea.
Hearing the case, the court observed that the RTI Act explicitly provides free access to information for BPL applicants and that no GO can override this statutory provision. The authorities had relied on GO No. 454 of 2005, which sets fees for RTI requests but makes no provision to deny free access to BPL applicants.
The court ruled that denying free information to BPL applicants violates the intent of the RTI Act and directed the public information officer to furnish the requested details at no cost.
The authorities did not dispute the applicant's request but directed him to pay ₹6,171 towards printing expenses. Justice Madhavi held that "since the Act mandates that persons in the BPL category are entitled to information free of cost, the information must be furnished to the petitioner."
The petition was filed by Gadipally Ganesh, a law student from Narsimhulapet village in Mahabubabad district. Ganesh claimed eligibility for the Indiramma scheme but found his name missing from the beneficiary list. He filed an RTI application seeking details of beneficiaries, eligibility criteria, and applications, alleging that deserving persons were denied benefits.
When asked to pay the printing fee, Ganesh filed appeals with the First Appellate Authority and later the Telangana Information Commission, both of which rejected his plea.
Hearing the case, the court observed that the RTI Act explicitly provides free access to information for BPL applicants and that no GO can override this statutory provision. The authorities had relied on GO No. 454 of 2005, which sets fees for RTI requests but makes no provision to deny free access to BPL applicants.
The court ruled that denying free information to BPL applicants violates the intent of the RTI Act and directed the public information officer to furnish the requested details at no cost.
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