CIC: Information pertaining to the pending investigations & other related proceedings of Late Sh. Sita Ram Jha fall under the ambit of third party information which is expressly barred from disclosure under Section-8(1)(j); No public interest established
17 Apr, 2023Information Sought:
The appellant has sought the following information pertaining to the charges levelled against his father late Shri Sita Ram Jha, Sr. TOAG, Dumka SSA:
1. Provide details of the officials who had been involved in the preparation of the Investigation Report dated 14/09/2018.
2. Provide details of the Competent Authority, which had approved the constitution of the Review Committee for consideration of the Investigation Report dated 14/09/2018.
3. Provide details of the Members of the said Review Committee.
4. And other related information.
Grounds for filing Second Appeal:
The CPIO did not provide the desired information Section 8(1) (h) and Section 8(1) (j) of the RTI Act, 2005.
Submissions made by Appellant and Respondent during Hearing:
The appellant in his second appeal had submitted that he had sought certain information pertaining to investigations conducted against his father, Late Sh. Sita Ram Jha from the respondent which was denied by the CPIO. However, he failed to attend the hearing of the Commission despite due service of the notice of hearing sent to him vide speed post no. ED911547313IN.
The APIO while referring to the written submissions of the CPIO dated 15.03.2023 stated that the appellant along with his brother and late father were involved in multiple on-going litigations before the High Court and Central Administrative Tribunal. He stated that the information was denied according to Section 8(1)(h) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information which would impede the process of investigation or apprehension or prosecution of offenders; of the RTI Act, 2005. He also stated that information sought for was of third party and hence barred from disclosure under Section 8(1) (j) of the RTI Act, 2005.
Observations:
On a perusal of the case records and submissions of both the parties during the hearing, the Commission observed that the desired information pertaining to the pending investigations and other related proceedings of Late Sh. Sita Ram Jha clearly falls under the ambit of third party information. Such information is expressly barred from disclosure as per Section-8(1)(j) of the RTI Act unless the appellant exhibits involvement of public interest. The appellant failed to establish involvement of public interest in the instant matter.
Therefore, the Commission opined that the denial of information is justified in the present case. No further action lies.
Decision:
With the above observations, the second appeal stands disposed of accordingly.
Vanaja N. Sarna
Information Commissioner
Citation: Mantu Kumar Jha v. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited, File no.: - CIC/BSNLD/A/2022/113533; Date of Decision : 16/03/2023