Section 13: Term of office and conditions of service
Right to Information Act, 2005 · Current English text and original study guidance. Independent educational content, not legal advice or a government service.
Understand this section
The 2019 amendment replaced the earlier fixed statutory term and salary provisions with terms prescribed by the Central Government, subject to the remaining statutory limits. Do not reproduce an older edition’s five-year term as the current subsection (1). The First Schedule supplies the oath form.
Original Banaka explanation · checked 30 September 2026 · not a substitute for the statute.
Related guide, examples and knowledge check →English statutory text
DoPT consolidated edition, 18 November 2025. Line wrapping and PDF footnote numbers removed; consolidation brackets and omission marks retained. See the official PDF for amendment footnotes and schedules.
13. Term of office and conditions of service.
(1) The Chief Information Commissioner shall hold office [for such term as may be prescribed by the Central Government] and shall not be eligible for reappointment:
Provided that no Chief Information Commissioner shall hold office as such after he has attained the age of sixty-five years.
(2) Every Information Commissioner shall hold office [for such term as may be prescribed by the Central Government] or till he attains the age of sixty-five years, whichever is earlier, and shall not be eligible for reappointment as such Information Commissioner:
Provided that every Information Commissioner shall, on vacating his office under this sub-section be eligible for appointment as the Chief Information Commissioner in the manner specified in sub-section (3) of section 12:
Provided further that where the Information Commissioner is appointed as the Chief Information Commissioner, his term of office shall not be more than five years in aggregate as the Information Commissioner and the Chief Information Commissioner.
(3) The Chief Information Commissioner or an Information Commissioner shall before he enters upon his office make and subscribe before the President or some other person appointed by him in that behalf, an oath or affirmation according to the form set out for the purpose in the First Schedule.
(4) The Chief Information Commissioner or an Information Commissioner may, at any time, by writing under his hand addressed to the President, resign from his office:
Provided that the Chief Information Commissioner or an Information Commissioner may be removed in the manner specified under section 14.
[(5) The salaries and allowances payable to and other terms and conditions of service of the Chief Information Commissioner and the Information Commissioners shall be such as may be prescribed by the Central Government:
Provided that the salaries, allowances and other conditions of service of the Chief Information Commissioner or the Information Commissioners shall not be varied to their disadvantage after their appointment:
Provided further that the Chief Information Commissioner and the Information Commissioners appointed before the commencement of the Right to Information (Amendment) Act, 2019 (24 of 2019) shall continue to be governed by the provisions of this Act and the rules made thereunder as if the Right to Information (Amendment) Act, 2019 (24 of 2019) had not come into force.]
(6) The Central Government shall provide the Chief Information Commissioner and the Information Commissioners with such officers and employees as may be necessary for the efficient performance of their functions under this Act, and the salaries and allowances payable to, and the terms and conditions of service of the officers and other employees appointed for the purpose of this Act shall be such as may be prescribed.