Income details of a public trust should not be disclosed

Background of the case

The appellant sought information regarding Income Tax assessment of a public trust along with permanent account number, the name and address of the chartered accountant, copies of the audit report and balance sheet for the last 10 years etc. He wanted to know whether the 20 institutions listed in the RTI applications were included in the Trust and the names of the authorities who were submitting the documents on account of the Trust. The PIO denied disclosure of information under the provisions of 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; 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; 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. 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 stating that the appellant had not demonstrated any larger public interest in disclosure of the requested information. The FAA upheld the order of the PIO after providing an opportunity of hearing to the appellant.

View of the CIC

The appellant claimed that he and his forefathers were parishers of the said Parish which was registered as charitable Institution and that on account of some differences with the current management; the appellant was being denied his legitimate right of knowing the income and expenditure of the parish by the current management. He also stated that as a parisher, he was the beneficiary of the parish and also contributor to the funds of the Church and therefore had the right to seek the requested information. The Commission ruled that the information held by the Income tax department cannot be disclosed to the appellant 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; 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; 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. 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. The Commission ruled that the appellant is free to make application before the church management of before the Registrar of Charities/Charity Commissioner to obtain the information on the grounds that he is a member of the said Parish.

Comments

The case demonstrates that the income tax details shall not be provided unless a larger public interest is demonstrated. It also shows the other avenues (apart from the income tax department) from which information may be obtained by a citizen.

Citation: Shri Babu Paul v. Income Tax Department in file no. CIC/DS/A/2011/003472