Marks obtained by other candidates in written examination is ‘personal information’ related to a third party, the disclosure of which has no relationship to any public activity or interest - CIC: The disclosure of such information is exempt u/s 8(1)(j)
24 Oct, 2016ORDER
1. Shri Sanjay Verma filed an application dated 01.09.2014 under the Right to Information Act, 2005 before the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO), Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) seeking information on six points relating to the Assistant Labour Commissioner (Central) examination, including
(i) copy of answer key of the online examination,
(ii) list of candidates (category wise) shortlisted for interview with their respective marks obtained,
(iii) final list of selected candidates (category wise) along with marks obtained,
(iv) total marks obtained by Roll Nos.11589 & 8193 along with copies of answer sheets and
(v) categorywise cut off marks of online examination for interview.
2. The CPIO in his response to the appellant on 19.09.2014 provided information on all the points except point nos. 2 & 5 of the RTI application. The CPIO stated that the requisite information on point 2 & 5 of the RTI application was not available in the desired form. Further, the information related to a third party and hence, disclosure of information is 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; and 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.
3. The appellant filed the second appeal dated 05.12.2014 before the Commission on the grounds that the information provided to him was incomplete and misleading.
Hearing:
4. The appellant Shri Sanjay Verma did not participate in the hearing despite notice and the respondent Shri T.K. Gulati, Deputy Secretary and Shri Deep Pant, Under Secretary were present in person.
5. The respondent submitted that the information has been provided to the appellant vide letter dated 19.09.2014. The appellant was provided the information sought by him on point nos. 1, 3, 4 and 6 of the RTI application. The respondent further submitted that regarding point nos. 2 and 5 of the RTI application, the appellant was informed that the requisite information is not available in the desired form. Besides, the information pertained to a third party. Hence, the same cannot be disclosed 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; and 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. The respondent submitted that the appellant was also informed that the copy of the answer sheet cannot be provided as the examination was conducted online.
Decision:
7. The Commission observes that the information sought vide point nos. 2 and 5 of the RTI application relates to marks obtained by other candidates in the written examination. Thus, the information sought is ‘personal information’ related to a third party, the disclosure of which has no relationship to any public activity or interest. Hence, the disclosure of such information is exempted 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.
8. With the above observations, the appeal is disposed of.
9. The appeal is disposed of. Copy of decision be given free of cost to the parties.
(Sudhir Bhargava)
Information Commissioner
Citation: Shri Sanjay Verma v. Union Public Service Commission in Decision No.CIC/CC/A/2014/002971/SB