PIO: Information about grant of licence/directors details of Mclarens Young Loss Adjusters & Surveyors India Pvt. Ltd. was provided & no larger public interest is involved in disclosure of all file notings among officials of IRDA - CIC: denial upheld
14 Dec, 2014
ORDER
1. The appellant, Shri Sankar Chandra Das Gupta, submitted RTI application dated 25 September 2012 before the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO), Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority (IRDA), Hyderabad, seeking information as follows:
(1) Certified copies of all documents, all correspondences and all the noting among officials of IRDA which lead to conclusion “The name of Mr. Satinder Kumar (SLA11622) could be deleted from the Survey License of M/s. McLarens Young Loss Adjusters & Surveyors India Pvt. Ltd (SLA72502);
(2) Certified copies of all documents, all correspondences and all file noting among officials of IRDA which lead to inference “The name of Mr. Jagat Krushna Patnaik (SLA13721) could be amended in the Survey License and
(3) Name of officer of IRDA who has signed the amended Survey License of M/s. McLarens Young Loss Adjusters and Survayors India Pvt. Ltd incorporating the name of Mr. Jagat Krushna Patnaik.
2. Vide reply dated 1 November 2012, the CPIO denied the information on Point No. 1 and 2 of the RTI application on grounds that the information sought is personal information and is exempted from disclosure 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 and provided information on Point No. 3 of the RTI application. Aggrieved by the response of the CPIO, the appellant preferred appeal dated 6 December 2012 before the first appellate authority (FAA) stating that the CPIO had CIC/DS/A/2013/002241 1 wrongly denied the information sought which is complete violation of section 7 (8) (1) (j) of the RTI Act, 2005 and had not given any explanation as to how this exemption is applied in case of present RTI application. Vide order dated 19 December 2012, the FAA remanded the matter to the CPIO in order to explain the reason as to how the information sought by the appellant was exempted u/s 8(1) (j) of the RTI Act, 2005. In compliance of the order passed by the FAA, the CPIO vide reply dated 24 January 2013 informed the appellant that information sought about grant of licence/directors details of Mclarens Young Loss Adjusters and Surveyors India Pvt. Ltd. has already been provided and they do not find any larger public interest involved in seeking certified copies of all documents, all correspondence and all file notings among officials of IRDA.
3. Not satisfied with the response of the public authority, the appellant preferred second appeal before the Commission.
4. The matter was heard by the Commission. In his written submissions filed by the appellant, he stated that the delegates of Board of Directors cannot work according to the Articles of Association of the Company and therefore cannot follow the Code of Conduct prescribed by the IRDA for Surveyors. Without the information the appellant cannot make complaints relating to disclosure on any allegation of corruption or willful misuse of power or willful misuse of discretion against any public servant. The respondents stated that M/s. Melarens Young Loss adjusters and Surveyors India Pvt. Ltd. the eligibility for Surveyors Licence depends on IRDA Surveyors and Loss Assessors Regulation as amended in 2013 and action was taken in accordance with the relevant Regulation. They stated that they had taken action in accordance with the Regulations on the subject and had already provided information on Point No. 3 of the RTI application giving the name of the officer who signed the amended Survey Licence of M/s McLarens Young Loss Adjusters and Surveyors India Pvt. Ltd The regulation requires minimum two Directors and the Company provided the names.
5. The Commission accepts the submissions of the respondent for denial of copies of documents/ correspondence and file notings for deleting the name of Shri Satinder Kumar and amending the name of Shri Jagat Krushna Patnaik as sought by the appellant. No larger public interest had been established by the appellant for such disclosure. The appeal is disposed of.
(Manjula Prasher)
Information Commissioner
Citation: Shri Sankar Chandra Das Gupta v. Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority in Appeal: No. CIC/DS/A/2013/002241/MP