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LEGAL

The Claim

Section 2(f) of the Right to Information Act, 2005 defines 'information' as material that already exists in recorded form and is held by the Public Authority, and the Public Information Officer is not required to create, compile, or deduce information beyond what is already available in material form.

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The Short Version

The claim captures a real legal principle but misattributes its source. Section 2(f) of the RTI Act defines "information" broadly—including opinions, advices, and other categories—not narrowly as "pre-existing recorded material." The rule that Public Information Officers need not create, compile, or deduce information is well-established but originates from Supreme Court interpretation (notably CBSE v. Aditya Bandopadhyay), not from the definitional text of Section 2(f) itself. By folding judicial interpretation into the statutory definition, the claim overstates what the provision actually says.

Caveats

  • Section 2(f) expressly includes 'opinions,' 'advices,' 'press releases,' and other broad categories of information—not just pre-existing records in a narrow sense.
  • The 'no duty to create, compile, or deduce' rule is a judicial and administrative interpretation (primarily from CBSE v. Aditya Bandopadhyay), not language found in Section 2(f) itself.
  • The claim conflates two distinct legal questions: what counts as 'information' under the statute (the definition) and what a PIO is obligated to furnish (the duty), treating the latter as part of the former.

The Receipts

  1. Right to Information: Public Officials Implementation Guide

    Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative

  2. Information defined under Section 2(f) RTI Act refers to material already available in records of public authority

    SCC Online

  3. RTI Cannot Force Authorities to Compile Data or Provide Analytical Reports - TaxGuru

    TaxGuru

  4. Understanding Information under the Right to Information (RTI) Act - Taxmann

    Taxmann

  5. Guidelines for Public Information Officer

    RTI Wiki

  6. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on RTI

    Central University of South Bihar

  7. 1.12 Programmes to advance understanding of RTI (Section 26) - NBCFDC

    NBCFDC

  8. RTI Act not obligate public authorities to compile information in a specific manner - TaxGuru

    TaxGuru

  9. Obligations of Public Authorities Under the RTI Act, 2005

    Public Administration Institute

  10. Decoding the Right to Information Act: What Qualifies as 'Information'?

    thelaw.institute

+ 5 more sources — see the full list on Lenz

Filed Under

Public AuthorityPublic Information OfficerRight to Information Act, 2005Section 2(f)