Cm Fadnavis Stays Maharashtra Rti Rules 2026

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has ordered a stay on the Maharashtra Right to Information Rules, 2026, days after social activist Anna Hazare threatened an indefinite hunger strike against the new provisions.

The rules, notified on June 12, had triggered criticism from RTI activists over several changes, including a higher application fee, mandatory submission of identity proof and a restriction limiting each application to a single subject.

Sources in the Chief Minister’s Office confirmed that Fadnavis has directed the Maharashtra Chief Information Commissioner to put the newly notified rules on hold.

Under the rules, applicants seeking information under the Right to Information Act, 2005, would have been required to pay an application fee of Rs 30. Charges for information were fixed at Rs 5 per A4 page and Rs 5 per scanned or digital page. Inspection of records was to remain free for the first hour, after which a fee of Rs 50 per hour would be levied.

Persons below the poverty line (BPL) were exempted from the application fee, although charges would apply for information exceeding 50 pages.

The notification also introduced a fee of Rs 50 for filing a first appeal before the First Appellate Authority and Rs 100 for a second appeal before the Maharashtra State Information Commission.

The rules further stipulated that RTI applications should ordinarily be confined to a single subject and generally not exceed 150 words. In cases where multiple subjects were included, Public Information Officers (PIOs) could process only the first subject and advise applicants to file separate applications for the remaining issues.

Additionally, applicants were required to submit a self-attested copy of a photo identity proof along with their applications, failing which the applications could be returned for compliance.

Hazare had earlier threatened to launch an indefinite hunger strike from July 5 if the amendments to the RTI rules were not withdrawn.