Can a contract between public authority and its extended branch be disclosed under RTI?
5 Nov, 2012Background
The appellant filed an application under the Right to Information (RTI) Act with the Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd. seeking details in respect of official contract between Indore Regional Office and TPA for a period of two years. The Public Information Officer (PIO) denied the information under section 8(1)(e) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information available to a person in his fiduciary relationship, unless the competent authority is satisfied that the larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information; of the RTI Act.
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The Central Information Commission (CIC) observed that it is the right of the ensured to know the nature of services to which he is entitled through the TPA who is the extended arm of the Insurance Company. The CIC however held that the commercial interest of the TPA must be taken into due consideration before disclosing any contractual information under the RTI Act. The Commission directed the PIO to provide the details in respect of official contract between Indore Regional Office and TPA for the mentioned period after following the procedure under section 10 of the RTI Act and severing the portions, the disclosure of which would harm the competitive position of the TPA.
Citation: Mr. Anil Jaiswal v. Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd in Appeal: No. CIC/DS/A/2012/000532
RTI Citation : RTIFI/2012/CIC/775
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