Can the educational qualification and assets of a Principal be sought under RTI?

Background

Detailed information related to the Principal of a school including his educational qualification, awards which were given to him, the finance bills that were passed by the Principal, the details of movable and immovable assets declared by the Principal etc. were sought under RTI. The Public Information Officer (PIO) provided point wise information and on appeal, the First Appellate Authority (FAA) directed the PIO to provide additional information.

View of the CIC

The Central Information Commission observed that the educational qualifications cannot be considered as personal in nature since it is based on these qualifications that the Principal has been selected for his post. Therefore, the Commission directed to provide copies of the educational qualifications of earlier years which have so far not been provided, if available with the Public Authority in their files. If not, the Appellant may be informed about their non availability. With regard to Finance bills, the Commission noted that the number of bills runs into thousands. Hence, the appellant was advised to inspect the bills and identify those which he requires so that copies of the same can be provided on payment of Rs.2/- per copy. Since the Principal stated that he has no objection to the PIO disclosing the information related to his movable and immovable assets, the Commission directed the PIO to provide the information as per the records. 

Citation: Shri Surendra Narula v. Directorate of Education in file no. CIC/AD/A/2012/000256