Details of insurance claims settled through Lok Adalat using RTI
7 Nov, 2012Background
The appellant filed an application under the Right to Information (RTI) Act with the Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd. seeking information in respect of claims settled through Lok Adalat after formation of the Bhopal TP Hub. The Public Information Officer (PIO) denied the information under sections 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; and 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 Act.
View of CIC
The Central Information Commission (CIC) observed that the details sought by the appellant included the calculation sheets of the 490 odd claims, prepared by the administrative department of the Public Authority. This is third party information held with the Bhopal TP Hub and hence could not be disclosed in the absence of any Larger Public Interest. The CIC also held that the Public Authority is not the exclusive holder of Lok Adalat Order and the same may be obtained by the appellant from the Lok Adalat itself through the prescribed procedure.
Citation: Mr. Shashank Shekhar v. Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd in Appeal: No. CIC/DS/A/2012/000508
RTI Citation : RTIFI/2012/CIC/778
Click here to view original RTI order of Court / Information Commission