Copy of Aadhaar card of minor daughter was denied by UIDAI - PIO: Appellant failed to mention any Aadhaar number without which it is nearly impossible to take any action - CIC: Issue a third party notice to the mother of the child on receiving Aadhar no

Information Sought:

The Appellant has stated that his aadhaar no. is 305671948853 and that of his ex-wife Dr. Ratika is 996992264787. A daughter namely Shanaya Jindal was born to them on 15.09.2015 at Masih Hospital, Model Town, Yamunanagar. In the said context, he has sought the following information:

1. Provide a copy of the aadhaar card of his daughter Shanaya Jindal.

2. Provide address of his daughter as per records of UIDAI.

Grounds for Second Appeal

The CPIO did not provide the desired information u/s 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. 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.

Submissions made by Appellant and Respondent during Hearing:

The appellant submitted that he is not satisfied with the reply of the CPIO as the sought for information cannot be denied to him u/s 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. 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 as he being the father of the minor and her natural guardian as per Section 6 of Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956 is entitled to get the desired information. He relied on the order passed by the Commission in File No. CIC/UIDAI/A/2018/124652 dated 04.09.2019. He also submitted that his written submissions may be taken on record. The CPIO submitted that an appropriate reply had been provided to the appellant on 18.05.2020. He also reiterated the contents of his written submissions dated 17.01.2022.

Observations:

From a perusal of the relevant case records, it is noted that the appellant is aggrieved as according to him, he being the natural guardian of his minor daughter cannot be considered as a third party. Per contra, the CPIO in his written submissions has explained as to why the information was denied to the appellant. Apart from the submissions already made, he further submitted that the appellant has failed to mention any Aadhaar number of his minor daughter without which it is nearly impossible for them to take any action whatsoever and by giving the names only, they will not be able to find the Aadhaar number associated with the names.

In the instant case, the information sought relates to the appellant’s daughter. As per the Act, the CPIO, if he/she intends to disclose the information should issue notice to the third party u/s 11 of the RTI Act. However, in the present case, the third party is a minor. Hence, the legal principle applies that minor’s consent is no consent. However, the CPIO while denying information u/s 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. 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. was supposed to follow the procedure envisaged u/s 11 of the RTI Act which has not been done.

The Commission considered the submissions of both the parties and came to the conclusion that the reply of the CPIO claiming exemption u/s 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. 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 is not proper as Section 11 procedure was not followed by him. However, since the appellant has failed to give Aadhaar number to the CPIO, he is directed to provide the same to the CPIO so as to enable the CPIO to follow the procedure under Section 11 of the RTI Act.

Decision:

Based on the above observations, the appellant is directed to provide the Aadhaar number to the CPIO within 10 days from the date of receipt of this order. On receipt of this information from the appellant, the CPIO is directed to follow due procedure prescribed u/s 11 of the RTI Act and issue notice to the third party. It is to be noted that in the present case, the third party being the minor daughter of the appellant, her consent is no consent, hence the CPIO should issue notice to the mother of the daughter who is having the custody of the minor at present and upon receipt of the response from her, an additional reply alongwith a copy of the objections, if any, should be provided to the appellant. The direction is to be followed within a period of 15 days from the date of receipt of reply from the appellant and a final reply is to be provided to the appellant within a period of 30 days under intimation to the Commission.

The appeal is disposed of accordingly.

Vanaja N. Sarna

Information Commissioner

Citation: Ravi Jindal v. Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) in File no.: - CIC/UIDAI/A/2020/117913, Date of Decision: 21/01/2022