RTI Act is the most revolutionary act defining a practical regime of the right to information. The three main pillars of the law are accountability, transparency, and accountability, which allow Indian citizens to access information directly from the government/institutions.

In this article, we have mentioned various Honorable Supreme Court judgments, provisions of the 2005 RTI Law, and procedures for applying for certified copies via the RTI portal, application formats, payment of fees, etc. Students and members can receive an official copy of Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) at a nominal price.

Institutional Procedures for Obtaining Certified Copies:
As you know about the process of obtaining a certified copy according to institute procedures, which requires students to apply for a review/certified copy of an online answer book within 45 days from the date of announcement of the results of each exam, along with a Fee of Rs. 500/- for subject books/answers for certified copies and Rs. 450/- for the subject/answer book to be reviewed and a certified copy of your answer sheet will be provided within 30 days of receiving your Application.

The above procedure at the institute is expensive, and students have to pay Rs. 500/- on paper for certified copies.

For example, if a CS student wanted to apply for certified copies of all eight subjects, they would have to take Rs. 4500/- (Rs. 500 per subject × 9 subjects).

RTI procedure for obtaining certified copies:
To ensure easy access to information, the Right to Information Act 2005 provides access to certified copies of answer sheets at face value and free review.

The RTI Act has been in effect since 2005. Each year, many students apply for certified copies under the RTI Act 2005. Still, the institute rejects the script for a candidate's answer and forces candidates to search their script for an answer according to institute procedures that price Rs 500/-

Is there a fee required for RTI certified copy?
To ensure easy access to information, the Right to Information Act 2005 provides access to certified copies of answer sheets at face value and free review. RTI 4 of the 2012 RTI Rules regulates the following information costs:

1. Registration fee:
When preparing an RTI application, pay an RTI fee of Rs. 10 / - the same must be done, and the same must be rejected for applicants below the poverty line and provide evidence of the BPL category.

2. Additional verification fee / official copy:
Inspection of Records – No fee for the first hour,– a fee of ₹.5.00 for each subsequent hour or a fraction thereof.
For each page (in A-4 or A-3 size paper) ₹ 2.00 per page of photocopy

How to apply for a certified copy via the RTI portal?
Applicants can submit applications online at their doorstep without visiting the office. Although user registration is not required to apply for an RTI, we recommend that you create an account on the RTI website so that you can have a list of applications in your user account and details such as your name, email address, and address will exist with the Application entered by RTI automatically.

1. Create an account and log into your RTI portal by entering your username and password in the link below: https://rtionline.gov.in/
2. Now click on the request option, scroll down, and check the box, which says "I have read and understood the guidelines above," Then, click on the "Submit" button.

The online RTI application form screen appears. You can use this form to submit your RTI application online.

3. In the agency application, enter the keyword as Corporate Secretary, select Indian Institute of Corporate Secretary for Computer Science Course Students from the drop-down list, and click OK. Your name, address, educational qualifications, and communication details are entered automatically if you have created an account on the RTI portal and can change it if necessary.

4. In the area of ​​"Applicants are below the poverty line."

Select the "Yes" option if you fall into the BPL category. - Under the category of "Poverty" and have valid evidence such as a food security card, food card, etc.
· Under the 2012 RTI regulations, citizens of this country do not have to pay registration fees.

· In the next fields, enter the BPL card number, year of issue, and issuing authority.

Select the No option if you do not fall into the BPL category or do not have valid evidence. These applicants must pay an online registration fee of Rs10/-
5. Now enter details and request a certified copy in the "RTI Request Text" sent.

There is no mandatory application form under the 2005 law, but I have referred to application formats from various agencies and prepared drafts for your information.

Download the draft application as a Word document from the link below, fill in your details, and copy and paste the required fields' content.

(Application format is given at the end of the article for your reference)
http://bit.ly/Applicationformat
Please note that no handwritten application form is required. The institute process and the RTI process are different platforms.

6. Now, as a student, upload a combined PDF copy of the BPL card (if any) and hall tickets/entrance tickets / other supporting documents that I want to prove by clicking the supporting documents.

7. Click the Send button (if the category is BPL) or the Make Payment button (Other) to pay Rs. 10 / - for registration fee via internet banking, credit, or debit card and click the Submit button after receiving payment.

8. After the Application is submitted, a unique registration number will be issued for use by the applicant for future inquiries. Applicants will receive an email and SMS alert when applying.

What happens after submitting an RTI application?
Relax and wait 30 days from your application date.
You don't need to contact the CPIO / institute by phone, email, etc. After receiving the Application, the institute forwards the Application to the relevant CPIO for further processing.
Within 30 days from the date of your RTI application, ICSI will charge a fee in response to your RTI application by calculating Rs. 2 per page + applicable postage and shows the total cost to be paid.
There is a fee as a certified paper copy sent by priority post, Rs. 2 per page is charged according to RTI rules.
No search / IPO project is required as you can make payments on the RTI portal itself by clicking the "Make a Payment" link after logging into the RTI portal under verification status.
According to ICSI sources, the answer book is not checked. There is no requirement according to the RTI rules.
Verify according to ICSI procedure, pay Rs 250 for the ICSI exam portal subject so you can know the score review result and copy at the RTI portal
Please note that re-evaluation of answers according to institute instructions is not allowed. So there is no difference between a certified copy obtained by the ICSI process and the RTI process.
When is the deadline for submitting a certified copy to RTI?

Under the RTI Act 2005, you can obtain available information from agencies. According to ICSI's Response Records Retention Policy, Company books are retained for 45 days from each relevant examination result's announcement.

So, you can apply for an official copy of the RTI within 45 days of the result date.
Conclusion:
Accessing certified copies through RTI is a thumping victory for the entire Students Community! Well, if you are a CA, CS, and CMA aspirant and looking forward to assistance as well as online classes then, we at Book My Lectures are a one-stop digital platform for you as we offer online lectures for CS, CA, and CMA. Moreover, we also provide end-to-end assistance to our students who are ambitious to achieve desired goals in their life.

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