Under the Right to Information Act, 2005, the Public Information Officer shall, as a rule, furnish the information requested within:

Section 7 of the RTI Act requires the information to be provided within THIRTY days of the receipt of a valid request, with the period extended by a further five days (to 35 days) where the information concerns a third party. In cases where the information concerns the LIFE or LIBERTY of a person, the information must be supplied within FORTY-EIGHT hours of the receipt of the request. Failure or deemed refusal triggers the appellate remedies under Section 19. The 30-day general and 48-hour life/liberty rules are the two signature RTI timelines.