Seeking information regarding security guards and gunmen employed at BSNL using RTI
12 May, 2013Background
The appellant filed an application under the Right to Information (RTI) Act with the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) seeking information regarding number of telephone exchanges in the Ghaziabad along with the complete details of Security Guards and Gunmen who were appointed by Security Agencies with their salary detail. The appellant also wanted to know the details of some deductions (ESI, EPF, and DGA) which were being made from the salaries of Security Guards and Gunmen for a certain period with monthly detail. The appellant also sought the details of contractors i.e. the name of owner of the company along with their details of their tender and work order copies. The Public Information Officer (PIO) informed the appellant that the information requested was very voluminous and compiling the same would disproportionately divert the resources of the public authority. Hence, the appellant can inspect the records and take whatever documents/information he needs. The PIO however denied the information relating to the details of salary allowances deductions 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. of the RTI Act stating that it is personal information and is related to third parties.
Proceedings
During the hearing the before Central Information Commission (CIC), the respondent reiterated the same position. He also submitted that the information relating to the number of telephone exchanges, number of security guards, names of the contractors and other readily available information will be furnished.
View of CIC
The Central Information Commission (CIC) directed the PIO to furnish the information to the appellant. The CIC also held that if the appellant wanted to inspect the files he should be permitted to inspect and take photocopies/ extracts there from up to 25 pages. Regarding the details of ESI, EPF & DGA deductions from salary of the security guards, the CIC upheld the decision of the PIO stating that the same were 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. 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 and the appellant has not cited any larger public interest to justify their disclosure.
Citation: Mr. Mangat Singh Tyagi v. BSNL in File No.CIC/BS/A/2012/000343/2239
RTI Citation : RTIFI/2013/CIC/1269
Click here to view original RTI order of Court / Information Commission