Information regarding LTC availed by an employee during his complete service, payment made & copy of LTC bill was denied u/s 8(1)(j) - CIC: such transactions involve transactions in public funds; directions issued to provide the information
20 Dec, 2013Information regarding LTC availed by an employee during his complete service, payment made to him each time & copy of LTC bill was denied u/s 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. 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. – CIC: transactions such as salary and wages, allowances and financial benefits such as LTC etc. involve transactions in public funds, provide the amounts claimed, destination, block years for which claims were made, number of persons for whom the claim was made, dates of filing the claim, advance taken
ORDER
Information sought:
1- Provide following information with respect to LTC availed by Mr. Kanchan Singh, Postal Assistant, Saharanpur HPO during his service period: (a) During his complete service when and how many times LTC was claimed and payment made. (b) How much payment was made to him each time? (c) Copy of LTC bill along with copies of Rail/Bus tickets.
2- Copy of service book alongwith all enclosures of Mr. Kanchan Singh.
Grounds for the Second Appeal: The PIO has refused the information under 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. 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.
Relevant Facts emerging during Hearing: The following were present Appellant: Mr. R.R. Dhiman appellant’s representative through VC Respondent: Mr. Harendra Singh CPIO’s representative through VC The appellant’s representative stated that the information requested in the RTI application dated 17/08/2012 relating to the LTC claim(s) of Mr. Kanchan Singh has not been provided. The CPIO’s representative stated that the information relates to a third party and they had carried out the process as laid down under section 11 of the RTI Act but the employee has refused to give his consent and hence exemption has been claimed under 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. 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.
Decision notice:
The Commission in the past has held that most transactions in tax payer’s money such as salary and wages, allowances and financial benefits such as LTC etc. are in public domain for the reasons that they involve transactions in public funds. Accordingly, the details about the amounts claimed as LTC, destination, block years for which claims were made, number of persons for whom the claim was made, dates of filing the claim, advance taken if any should be provided to the appellant within 30 days from the date of receipt of this order. However, the other personal details such as the names of family members, their age etc. are personal information and need not be disclosed. The appeal is disposed of accordingly.
BASANT SETH
Information Commissioner
Citation: Mr. M. A. Khan v. Department of Posts in File No. CIC/BS/A/2012/001880/4009