Information relating to fire insurance purchased & claimed by M/s Jhunjhunwala Oil Mills Pvt. Ltd. was denied u/s 8(1)(e) by PIO of National Insurance Company - CIC: denial of information upheld holding that no larger public interest served by disclosure
18 Apr, 2014Facts:
1.The appellant Shri Nageshwar Mishra has submitted RTI application dated 09 October 2012 before the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO), National Insurance Company Ltd., New Delhi, seeking information relating to fire insurance purchased and claimed by M/s Jhunjhunwala Oil Mills Pvt. Ltd. through total of 03 points.
2. Vide CPIO order dated 02 November 2012, CPIO denied the requisite information sought on the ground of its being exempted 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; of the RTI Act, 2005 and also provided the objection letter sent by M/s Jhunjhunwala Oil Mills Pvt. Ltd. (third party).
3. Not satisfied by the CPIO’s reply, the appellant preferred first appeal to the First Appellate Authority (FAA) dated 24 November 2012. FAA has not disposed off the matter till date.
4. Being aggrieved and not satisfied by the above response of the Public Authority, the appellant preferred second appeal before the Commission alleging that he has not received complete and satisfactory information.
5. The matter was heard today. Shri Nageshwar Mishra attended the hearing from Varanasi through videoconferencing. Shri Dinesh Kalra, Administrative Officer, CPIO, from National Insurance Co. Ltd., New Delhi attended the hearing in person. The appellant was asked to explain his case. He stated that he had asked for information relating to M/s. Jhunjhunwala Oil Mills Pvt. Ltd. (third party) for the policy held by them, the compensation that was given to them when a fire broke out and he also wanted certified copy of the application filed by M/s. Jhunjhunwala Oil Mills Pvt. Ltd. for taking the insurance and later seeking compensation. The CPIO and FAA had denied the information on the ground of it being covered 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; of the Act. M/s. Jhunjhunwala Oil Mills Pvt. Ltd. had been asked under section 11(1) Where a Central Public Information Officer or a State Public Information Officer, as the case may be, intends to disclose any information or record, or part thereof on a request made under this Act, which relates to or has been supplied by a third party and has been treated as confidential by that third party, the Central Public Information Officer or State Public Information Officer, as the case may be, shall, within five days from the receipt of the request, give a written notice to such third party of the request and of the fact that the Central Public Information Officer or State Public Information Officer, as the case may be, intends to disclose the information or record, or part thereof, and invite the third party to make a submission in writing or orally, regarding whether the information should be disclosed, and such submission of the third party shall be kept in view while taking a decision about disclosure of information: of the Act to state whether the information can be supplied. M/s Jhunjhjunwala had refused besides no larger public interest would be served by providing information held by the National Insurance Co.Ltd. New Delhi in fiduciary capacity to the complainant.
Decision notice
6. In view of the above, the Commission finds no reason to intervene in the matter and the case is treated as closed.
(Manjula Prasher)
Information Commissioner
Citation: Shri Nageshwar Mishra v. National Insurance Co. Ltd., in Appeal: No. CIC/DS/A/2013/000106/MP