Copies of Advocate’s opinion and report on gist of a case was denied u/s 8(1)(d) - PIO: FCI is involved in a number of ligations with the appellant; legal opinion obtained to assist FCI in formulating its position in Court - CIC: appeal rejected
16 Apr, 2014ORDER
Information sought:
The appellant sought information on three points relating to copies of Advocate’s opinion and report on gist of a case before the FAA, FCI.
Relevant facts emerging during hearing:
The appellant is present through Video Conferencing. The appellant filed an RTI application on 26.07.2011 seeking copies of the gist of a case on which Supreme Court advocate furnished his opinion as well as the opinions of AGM (Legal ) FCI. The appellant stated that he is a senior citizen working for the cause of welfare of labour and their wages and therefore, the information should be provided to him in national interest. The respondent stated that the FCI is involved in a number of ligations in the Court in which the appellant himself is arraigned on the other side. This is a legal opinion provided to the FCI to assist in formulating its position in the Court. Hence, section 8(1)(d) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information including commercial confidence, trade secrets or intellectual property, the disclosure of which would harm the competitive position of a third party, unless the competent authority is satisfied that larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information; has been invoked to deny the information sought for.
Decision:
After hearing both the parties and perusal of documents, the Commission upholds the stance of the CPIO in denying the information to the appellant u/s 8 (1)(d) of the RTI Act. The appeal is dismissed accordingly.
(Yashovardhan Azad)
Information Commissioner
Citation: Shri S.N. Mankad v. Food Corporation of India in F. No. CIC/SS/A/2012/001329-YA