Information regarding erection of hoardings at various spots by a Bank was denied u/s 8(1)(d) & (e) - CIC: no ground has been advanced for invoking section 8(1)(d), police permission is not held in a fiduciary capacity; provide the information
11 Aug, 2015ORDER
1. This matter pertains to an RTI application dated 24.3.2014 filed by the Appellant, seeking information on five points regarding erection of hoardings at various spots by the Respondent Bank. Not satisfied with the response of the Respondents, he filed second appeal dated 12.6.2014 to the CIC, which was received by the Commission on 24.6.2014.
2. The Appellant stated that the Respondents have put up a number of hoardings and claim that they have obtained permission of the Additional Commissioner of Police for this purpose and cost of each hoarding is Rs. 3,000/for one month. However, they have denied him a copy of the permission granted by the police and their agreement with the agency which has put up the hoardings. The Respondents stated that the above information was denied 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; 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 (e) of the RTI Act. However, we are not in agreement with them in so far as the police permission is concerned. No ground has been advanced for invoking clause (d) of subsection (1) of Section 8 of the RTI Act to deny this information. Further, the Respondents do not hold the information concerning police permission in a fiduciary capacity and cannot, therefore, invoke clause (e). In view of the foregoing, we direct the CPIO to provide to the Appellant a copy of the permission granted by the Assistant Commissioner of Police, within fifteen days of the receipt of this order, under intimation to the Commission. However, we uphold the decision of the Respondents to deny a copy of their agreement with the agency that has put up the hoardings. This is information of commercial confidence and is covered by 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; 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; of the RTI Act.
(Sharat Sabharwal)
Information Commissioner
Citation: Shri R Natarajan v. UCO Bank in File No. CIC/SH/A/2014/001734