Can the Charter of Demands submitted by Trade Unions be disclosed under RTI?

Background        

The appellant sought the copy of the Charter of Demands submitted by all the Trade Unions for wage negotiations / revisions due by the Company’s Management from August 2007. The Public Information Officer (PIO) asked the appellant to deposit the fee of Rs. 298/- for obtaining the information involving 149 pages. The appellant objected that the PIO had not acted as per section 10(2)(b) and (e) of the Act. The First Appellate Authority (FAA) provided a speaking order explaining the reasons for severance of part of the information.

View of CIC

The Central Information Commission (CIC) directed the PIO to take action as per section 11 of the Act and seek submission of the third party and after receiving such submission, disclose the requested information in consonance with the provisions of the Act.

Citation: Mr. Walter Fernandes v. LIC of India in Appeal No. CIC/DS/A/2011/002384