Can documents submitted by a subscriber for getting the telephone connection be disclosed?
2 Jul, 2013Background
The appellant filed an application under the Right to Information (RTI) Act with the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) seeking copies of the documents submitted by a subscriber Mr. Bhanwarlal Choudhary on the basis of which the telephone connection had been provided to him. The Public Information Officer (PIO) denied the information under section 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 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; of the RTI Act.
Proceedings
During the hearing the before Central Information Commission (CIC), the PIO stated that the information related to a third party and is exempt 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. of the RTI Act unless the appellant is able to show some larger public interest to justify the disclosure. The appellant pleaded that the said subscriber had submitted a copy of ration card as one of the documents for obtaining the telephone connection and he has a written confirmation from the rationing office that the document submitted by the subscriber to BSNL is bogus and the rationing officer has also filed an FIR against him. The appellant also added that the said accused has committed a massive fraud at Surat and the Superintendent of Police, Udaipur has also confirmed to him that two FIRs have been registered against that person. The PIO agreed to furnish the information.
View of CIC
The Commission directed the PIO to furnish the information as requested by the appellant in his RTI application.
Citation: Mr. Ajay Jangid v. BSNL in File No. CIC/BS/A/2012/001051/2718
RTI Citation : RTIFI/2013/CIC/1412
Click here to view original RTI order of Court / Information Commission