CIC: Disclose the information relating to date of joining, copy of pay slip (severing the part related to deductions), the period of leave without giving reasons for taking leave & total annual medical expenses reimbursed to Shri SK Sil to the appellant
9 Jul, 2016ORDER
1. The appellant, Shri Durga Chatterjee, submitted RTI application dated 19.01.2015 before the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO), Punjab National Bank, Burdwan sought information in respect of Shri Sadhan Kumar Sil, employee of the PNB, who met with road accident was treated in various hospitals, regarding his date of joining; date of birth; copy of pay-slips for the months of January to March, 2012; period of leave applied/granted due to accident; had his salary been paid for the period of leave; were his medical expenses reimbursed by the PNB; had he suffered any financial loss in respect of his income due to the accident; had he enjoyed any special privilege/facility during his treatment etc. through eight points.
2. The CPIO vide letter 18.02.2015 declined to divulge information to the appellant being third party information. Aggrieved with the reply of the CPIO, the appellant filed an appeal on 17.03.2015 before the first appellate authority (FAA). The FAA vide order dated 07.04.2015 held that the information sought pertained to third party and could not be provided 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. of the RTI Act, 2005.
3. Thereafter, aggrieved with the reply of the respondents, the appellant filed the instant appeal before the Commission dated 31.08.2015 stating that the information sought related to public money, as the employee had been paid from it and was wrongly denied by the respondents.
4. The matter was heard by the Commission. The appellant was not present in spite of a notice of hearing having been sent to him. The respondents reiterated their stand and relied on the judgment of Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in the matter of Aditya Bandopadhyaya & Ors and Girish Ramchandra Deshpande Vs. CIC, in which it was likewise decided that the RTI Act contains certain safeguards by providing exemption from disclosure of certain information including the information which would cause unwarranted invasion of the privacy of the individual except where the larger public interest justifies the disclosure of such information. No larger public interest was however established in this case.
5. Having considered the submissions of the respondents and perused the relevant documents in the file, the Commission holds that the information as sought by the appellant at points 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 relating to date of joining, copy of pay slip (severing the part related to deductions), the period of leave without giving reasons for taking leave and total year-wise medical expenses reimbursed to Shri Sadhan Kumar Sil should be divulged to the appellant. Therefore, the Commission directs the CPIO to provide information on points 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 within fifteen days of the receipt of the order of the Commission. The appeal is disposed of.
(Manjula Prasher)
Information Commissioner
Citation: Shri Durga Chatterjee v. Punjab National Bank in Case No. CIC/MP/A/2015/001882