Maximum fee for RTI application should not exceed Rs 50: Supreme Court

As per the latest Supreme Court directive, the maximum fee for filing applications under the Right to Information Act would be Rs 50. The apex court's order came on Tuesday and noted that the maximum charge for photocopying charges can only amount to Rs 5 per page.

The top court's order will be applicable to all institutions, including high courts, legislative assemblies and other government and autonomous bodies that come within the purview of the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

An NGO called Common Cause had moved the court noting that levying excessive fee for RTI applications would disincentivise and discourage the public from seeking information.

The Chhattisgarh Vidhan Sabha had increased RTI application fee to Rs 500 in the year 2011. The same was reduced to Rs 300 in 2016.

Officially, the fee for initiating an RTI application should ideally be just Rs 10.