Copy of the bilateral agreement with the Saudi Arabia
26 Jan, 2012Background of the case
The appellant sought copies of Bilateral Haj Agreement between Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Union of India. The PIO replied that the Saudi Authorities have requested to maintain confidentiality of the Bilateral Haj Agreement and therefore, it is not possible to provide copies of the Agreement as per Section 8 (1) (a) of RTI Act. The appellant did not receive the PIO’s response in time and lodged a complaint directly with the CIC.
View of CIC
The PIO explained that a response to the application could be issued only after a response from the deemed PlO JS(Gulf/ Haj) and therefore, the response to the applicant could not be issued within 30 days as per provisions of the RTI Act, for which he expressed his regret. The Commission noted that copies of Bilateral Agreements between Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Union of India were not disclosed by the PIO on the ground that the Saudi Arabian Government has objected to this and claimed that these are held in confidence. The PIO has therefore claimed exemption under Section 8(1)(f) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information received in confidence from foreign Government; Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information received in confidence from foreign Government; of the RTI Act which exempts, “information received in confidence from foreign government”. The Commission hled that the information sought is exempt under Section 8(1)(f) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information received in confidence from foreign Government; Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information received in confidence from foreign Government; of the RTI Act.
Citation: Mr. Khalid Mundappilly v. Ministry of External Affairs in Decision No. CIC/SG/C/2011/001274/17023
RTI Citation : RTIFI/2012/CIC/36
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