Can the details of the Invigilators of an examination be disclosed under RTI?
22 Mar, 2012Background
The appellant sought the names and other details of the invigilators for the CSP examination 2010 conducted in a particular school. The Public Information Officer (PIO) refused to disclose the information by claiming that it was held in a fiduciary relationship and that the disclosure of the names could endanger the lives of the invigilators and the same is exempt for disclosure under sections 8(1)(e) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information available to a person in his fiduciary relationship, unless the competent authority is satisfied that the larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information; and 8(1)(g) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information, the disclosure of which would endanger the life or physical safety of any person or identify the source of information or assistance given in confidence for law enforcement or security purposes; of the Right to Information (RTI) Act. On appeal, the First Appellate Authority upheld the order of the PIO.
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The Central Information Commission observed that the invigilators only keep vigil inside the examination halls and play no other role in the examination and that there is no plausible reason why their identity should be kept secret forever. The Commission directed the PIO to provide the photocopy of the relevant records containing the names and other details of the invigilators as desired by the appellant, stating that there is no reason to believe that this would pose any threat to the personal security of those individuals.
Citation: Shri Gajendra Singh v. Union Public Service Commission in File No. CIC/SM/A/2011/000812
RTI Citation : RTIFI/2012/CIC/166
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