Can copy of charge sheet issued to third party be disclosed under RTI?
26 Dec, 2012Background
The appellant is the accused in Special Case at the Special Court CBI, Indore. He filed an application under the Right to Information (RTI) Act with the Directorate General of Vigilance Customs & Central Excise seeking copy of Departmental Charge Sheet issued to the Deputy Commissioner, Central Excise and the Assistant Commissioner, Central Excise in the case of M/s. Maikaal Fibres Ltd. The Public Information Officer (PIO) denied the information under section 8(1)(h) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information which would impede the process of investigation or apprehension or prosecution of offenders; Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information which would impede the process of investigation or apprehension or prosecution of offenders; of the RTI Act stating that the information is related to disciplinary proceedings which have not yet attained finality. Providing information at this stage would impede the process of investigation in the matter as it would reveal the identity of source of information and the views expressed by the investigators.
Proceeding
During the hearing before the Central Information Commission (CIC), the appellant referred to a decision of High Court of Delhi and requested that information may be provided to him. The appellant further pleaded that justice cannot be granted to him in the criminal matter till the said facts are presented before the Court which will go on to assist the Court in arriving at the correct decision. The copies of the charge sheet of the concerned officers are vital to the case and so in the interest of fair play and justice to the appellant.
View of CIC
The Central Information Commission (CIC) noted that the information sought for by the appellant relates to charge sheets issued to other officers (third party) and the departmental proceedings are underway against the said two officers. The CIC rejected the appeal stating that the respondent have no disclosure obligation under the provisions of section 8(1)(h) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information which would impede the process of investigation or apprehension or prosecution of offenders; Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information which would impede the process of investigation or apprehension or prosecution of offenders; and section 8(1)(j) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information which relates to personal information the disclosure of which has no relationship to any public activity or interest, or which would cause unwarranted invasion of the privacy of the individual unless the Central Public Information Officer or the State Public Information Officer or the appellate authority, as the case may be, is satisfied that the larger public interest justifies the disclosure of such information: Provided that the information which cannot be denied to the Parliament or a State Legislature shall not be denied to any person. of the RTI Act, 2005.
Citation: Mr. Ashutosh Nath v. Directorate General of Vigilance Customs & Central Excise in Case No. CIC/SS/A/2012/001332
RTI Citation : RTIFI/2012/CIC/898
Click here to view original RTI order of Court / Information Commission