Disclosure of information regarding Group of Ministers under RTI
30 Mar, 2012Background
The appellant sought various details of the Group of Ministers (GoM) constituted, such as the copies of orders constituting the GoM, date/venue of meeting of each GoM, minutes of meeting of each GoM and the report submitted by GoM. The Public Information Officer (PIO) gave the partial information and denied the copies of the minutes of the GoM under section 8(1)(i) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, cabinet papers including records of deliberations of the Council of Ministers, Secretaries and other officers: Provided that the decisions of Council of Ministers, the reasons thereof, and the material on the basis of which the decisions were taken shall be made public after the decision has been taken, and the matter is complete, or over: Provided further that those matters which come under the exemptions specified in this section shall not be disclosed; of the RTI Act, as it was a part of the Cabinet Note for implementing the recommendation of the GoM.
View of CIC
The respondents submitted that the GoM is part of the Council of Ministers and hence the minutes are exempt from disclosure as per the provision of Section 8(1) (i) of the RTI Act. The Commission agreed with the PIO and endorsed his decision.
Citation: Shri Kishanlal Mittal v Ministry Of Information and Broadcasting in File No. CIC/SG/A/2011/003610
RTI Citation : RTIFI/2012/CIC/183
Click here to view original RTI order of Court / Information Commission