The Pink City Post: Jaipur: Sunday, 8th March
2026.
Raj HC quashes ₹1000 processing fee for RTI copies of answer sheets, says fee beyond RTI Rules illegal HC holds universities cannot impose additional processing charges when information is sought under RTI Act.
The Rajasthan High Court
has held that universities cannot impose additional processing charges for
providing certified copies of answer sheets when such information is sought
under the Right to Information Act, 2005. The Court ruled that charging a processing
fee of ₹1000 per application is contrary to the RTI Act and the rules framed
thereunder.
The Division Bench comprising Justice Dr. Pushpendra Singh Bhati and Justice Sandeep Shah passed the order in D.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 13783/2021, Vipika vs Rajasthan University of Health Sciences & Anr., decided on March 6, 2026.
The Court observed that once information is sought under the RTI Act, the fee structure prescribed under the Act and the Rules must be followed and any additional processing charges imposed by public authorities would be inconsistent with the statutory framework.
The petitioner, Vipika, had approached the Court challenging the guidelines issued by Rajasthan University of Health Sciences (RUHS) which required applicants to pay ₹1000 per answer book as a processing fee for obtaining certified copies under the RTI Act.
According to the petition, the petitioner was a B.Sc. Nursing student who had failed in two subjects in the final year examination. After the results were declared, she applied under the RTI Act seeking certified copies of her evaluated answer books and deposited the prescribed RTI application fee.
However, the University demanded a total amount of ₹1225 for each answer book, including ₹1000 as processing fee, ₹80 towards photocopy charges calculated at ₹2 per page for 40 pages, and ₹145 as postal charges.
Aggrieved by the demand, the petitioner challenged the legality of the processing fee, contending that such a charge was contrary to the RTI Act and the Right to Information (Regulation of Fee and Cost) Rules, which prescribe only ₹10 as application fee and ₹2 per page for copies of documents. 206800137832021_11
The University defended the demand by relying on Section 7 of the RTI Act and argued that the processing fee represented the cost incurred in providing the information. It was submitted that the University had to employ staff to manage the storage and retrieval of approximately 6.5 lakh answer sheets and therefore the fee had been fixed by the Board of Management.
After examining the statutory scheme of the RTI Act and the Rules of 2012, the Court held that the fee payable for seeking information under the Act is already specified by the statutory rules and public authorities cannot prescribe additional charges that are inconsistent with those rules.
The Court emphasized that Section 22 of the RTI Act gives the Act overriding effect over any other law or regulation, meaning that university guidelines or ordinances cannot override the statutory fee structure provided under the Act.
The Bench further referred to several decisions of the Supreme Court including Institute of Chartered Accountants of India vs Shaunak H. Satya, CBSE vs Aditya Bandopadhyay, and Institute of Company Secretaries of India vs Paras Jain, which recognized the right of examinees to access evaluated answer sheets under the RTI Act and clarified that statutory RTI rules must prevail over institutional regulations.
The Court also relied on a previous Division Bench judgment of the Rajasthan High Court in Alka Matoria vs Maharaja Ganga Singh University, which had struck down a similar processing fee imposed for providing answer sheets under the RTI Act.
The Bench observed that imposing a processing fee of ₹1000 appeared to be an attempt to discourage students from seeking certified copies of their answer books, which runs contrary to the objective of the RTI Act that aims to promote transparency and accountability in public authorities.
Holding the fee structure to be illegal, the Court allowed the writ petition and quashed the University’s guidelines dated September 6, 2012 and the subsequent decision of the Board of Management dated December 20, 2014 insofar as they imposed a processing fee of ₹1000 per application.
The Court directed that whenever information is sought under the RTI Act, the University must provide the information after charging only the fee prescribed under the RTI Rules and nothing beyond it.
Case Title: Vipika vs Rajasthan University of Health Sciences & Anr.
Case Number: D.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 13783/2021
Court: High Court of Judicature for Rajasthan, Bench at Jodhpur
Raj HC quashes ₹1000 processing fee for RTI copies of answer sheets, says fee beyond RTI Rules illegal HC holds universities cannot impose additional processing charges when information is sought under RTI Act.
The Division Bench comprising Justice Dr. Pushpendra Singh Bhati and Justice Sandeep Shah passed the order in D.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 13783/2021, Vipika vs Rajasthan University of Health Sciences & Anr., decided on March 6, 2026.
The Court observed that once information is sought under the RTI Act, the fee structure prescribed under the Act and the Rules must be followed and any additional processing charges imposed by public authorities would be inconsistent with the statutory framework.
The petitioner, Vipika, had approached the Court challenging the guidelines issued by Rajasthan University of Health Sciences (RUHS) which required applicants to pay ₹1000 per answer book as a processing fee for obtaining certified copies under the RTI Act.
According to the petition, the petitioner was a B.Sc. Nursing student who had failed in two subjects in the final year examination. After the results were declared, she applied under the RTI Act seeking certified copies of her evaluated answer books and deposited the prescribed RTI application fee.
However, the University demanded a total amount of ₹1225 for each answer book, including ₹1000 as processing fee, ₹80 towards photocopy charges calculated at ₹2 per page for 40 pages, and ₹145 as postal charges.
Aggrieved by the demand, the petitioner challenged the legality of the processing fee, contending that such a charge was contrary to the RTI Act and the Right to Information (Regulation of Fee and Cost) Rules, which prescribe only ₹10 as application fee and ₹2 per page for copies of documents. 206800137832021_11
The University defended the demand by relying on Section 7 of the RTI Act and argued that the processing fee represented the cost incurred in providing the information. It was submitted that the University had to employ staff to manage the storage and retrieval of approximately 6.5 lakh answer sheets and therefore the fee had been fixed by the Board of Management.
After examining the statutory scheme of the RTI Act and the Rules of 2012, the Court held that the fee payable for seeking information under the Act is already specified by the statutory rules and public authorities cannot prescribe additional charges that are inconsistent with those rules.
The Court emphasized that Section 22 of the RTI Act gives the Act overriding effect over any other law or regulation, meaning that university guidelines or ordinances cannot override the statutory fee structure provided under the Act.
The Bench further referred to several decisions of the Supreme Court including Institute of Chartered Accountants of India vs Shaunak H. Satya, CBSE vs Aditya Bandopadhyay, and Institute of Company Secretaries of India vs Paras Jain, which recognized the right of examinees to access evaluated answer sheets under the RTI Act and clarified that statutory RTI rules must prevail over institutional regulations.
The Court also relied on a previous Division Bench judgment of the Rajasthan High Court in Alka Matoria vs Maharaja Ganga Singh University, which had struck down a similar processing fee imposed for providing answer sheets under the RTI Act.
The Bench observed that imposing a processing fee of ₹1000 appeared to be an attempt to discourage students from seeking certified copies of their answer books, which runs contrary to the objective of the RTI Act that aims to promote transparency and accountability in public authorities.
Holding the fee structure to be illegal, the Court allowed the writ petition and quashed the University’s guidelines dated September 6, 2012 and the subsequent decision of the Board of Management dated December 20, 2014 insofar as they imposed a processing fee of ₹1000 per application.
The Court directed that whenever information is sought under the RTI Act, the University must provide the information after charging only the fee prescribed under the RTI Rules and nothing beyond it.
Case Title: Vipika vs Rajasthan University of Health Sciences & Anr.
Case Number: D.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 13783/2021
Court: High Court of Judicature for Rajasthan, Bench at Jodhpur
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