Transparency
Right to Information Act, 2005
Overview of the Right to Information Act, 2005 as it applies to this institution, along with the designated Public Information Officer, Assistant Information Officer and Appellate Authority.
The law
Know the Act
The Right to Information Act, 2005 lets any citizen of India ask a public authority for information it holds — records, documents, notes, reports — or to inspect them and take certified copies.
This college is a public authority under the Act. You do not have to give a reason for your request. Information that falls under the exemptions in Section 8 of the Act may be withheld, and the officer must then tell you why in writing.
Read the preamble of the Act
An Act to provide for setting out the practical regime of right to information for citizens to secure access to information under the control of public authorities, in order to promote transparency and accountability in the working of every public authority, the constitution of a Central Information Commission and State Information Commissions and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. WHEREAS the Constitutions of India has established democratic Republic; AND WHEREAS democracy requires an informed citizenry and transparence of information which are vital to its functioning and also to contain corruption and to hold Governments and their instrumentalities accountable to the governed; AND WHEREAS revelation of information in actual practice is likely to conflict with other public interests including efficient operations of the Governments, optimum use of limited Fiscal resources and the Preservation of confidentiality of sensitive information; AND WHEREAS it is necessary to harmonies these conflicting interests while preserving the paramountcy of the democratic ideal; Now, THEREFORE, it is expedient to provide for furnishing certain information to citizens who desire to have it.
Who to contact
RTI officers
Applications go to the State Public Information Officer. Appeals go to the Appellate Authority.
Application process
How to file an RTI request
From writing the request to appealing a decision.
Step 1: Write your request
Address it to the State Public Information Officer (SPIO), Government Polytechnic College, Perinthalmanna. Give your full name and postal address, describe the information you want, the year it relates to and any reference you have. You need not give a reason.
Step 2: Pay the ₹10 application fee
Attach proof of payment: a court-fee stamp, a treasury challan, a cash receipt from the college office, or a demand draft, banker’s cheque or pay order drawn in favour of the SPIO. Applicants below the poverty line pay no fee — enclose a copy of a valid BPL certificate.
Step 3: Submit the application
Hand it in at the college office, send it by registered post to the SPIO, or file it online on the Kerala RTI portal, where the fee is paid through the e-Treasury. Keep the receipt or registration number.
Step 4: Wait for the reply
The SPIO must reply within 30 days — within 48 hours if the information concerns a person’s life or liberty. Five more days are allowed if the application was handed to the Assistant Public Information Officer. You may be asked to pay copying charges before the records are released.
Step 5: Not satisfied? Appeal
File a first appeal with the Appellate Authority within 30 days of the reply, or of the day it was due. If that does not resolve it, a second appeal lies to the Kerala State Information Commission within 90 days. No fee is charged for appeals in Kerala.
Charges
Fees
Kerala rates under the Right to Information (Regulation of Fee and Cost) Rules, 2006, as amended in 2021.
Deadlines
What happens, and when
The statutory time limits that apply once you have applied.
Day 0
You apply
Your application and the ₹10 fee reach the SPIO or the Assistant Public Information Officer.
Within 30 days
The SPIO replies
The information is supplied, or the request is refused in writing with reasons. Urgent cases involving life or liberty: 48 hours.
Within 30 days of the reply
First appeal
Appeal to the Appellate Authority if you got no reply, or are unhappy with it.
Within 30–45 days
Appeal decided
The Appellate Authority must decide within 30 days, and in no case later than 45 days.
Within 90 days of the decision
Second appeal
Appeal to the Kerala State Information Commission.
Which office should get my request?
Send it to the public authority that holds the record. A request to the wrong office is transferred, but it costs you days.
Official resources
- RTI Online — Government of India (opens in a new tab)
Central portal for applications to AICTE and other central bodies.
- RTI Act, 2005 — official portal (opens in a new tab)
The Act, rules and guides from the Department of Personnel and Training.
- DTE Kerala — Section 4(1)(b) disclosure (opens in a new tab)
The Directorate’s proactive disclosure: structure, functions and contacts of every office.
- Kerala fee rules — S.R.O. 790/2021 (opens in a new tab)
Gazette notification that set the current ₹3-per-page and ₹75 electronic-media rates.
- AICTE mandatory disclosure
What this college must publish about itself.
- Grievance Redressal System
For complaints that are not information requests.
Questions
Common questions
- Do I have to give a reason for asking?
- No. Section 6(2) of the Act says an applicant cannot be asked why they want the information.
- Can I apply by email or phone?
- An application must be in writing and accompanied by the fee — on paper, or through the Kerala RTI portal. A phone call or a plain email may not be treated as an RTI application.
- What if the SPIO does not reply in 30 days?
- Silence is treated as a refusal. You can file a first appeal with the Appellate Authority within 30 days of the day the reply was due.
- Can information be refused?
- Only on the grounds listed in Sections 8 and 9 of the Act — for example, information that would prejudice national security, or personal information unrelated to any public activity. The refusal must be in writing, with reasons and details of how to appeal.
- Can I look at the records instead of taking copies?
- Yes. Inspection is free for the first hour, then ₹10 for every further 30 minutes.
Summarised from the Right to Information Act, 2005 and the Kerala Right to Information (Regulation of Fee and Cost) Rules, 2006, as amended by S.R.O. 790/2021. Checked against official sources in November 2026. The Act and the Rules prevail over this page.