Dealer wise details of rent paid by the BPCL for leased outlets was denied u/s 8(1)(d) & 8(1)(e) - CIC: provide the information including the names of allottees, corupus fund given to such allottees & recovery made by the BPCL from all such dealers
5 Mar, 2014ORDER
The present appeal, filed by Shri Jai Pal Singh against Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, was taken up for hearing on 28.01.2014 when the Respondents were present through Shri G.M. Vats, State Coordinator and Shri Pulkit Mathur, Sr. Manager. The Appellant was, however, not present.
2. The Appellant through an RTI application dated 22.01.2013 sought information against 13 points, including details of company’s dealership of petrol/diesel in Uttarakhand state; dealer wise details of rent paid by the company for dealer leased outlets in Uttarakhand state; dealer wise details of service licence fee charged from dealer leased outlets (for MS &HSD) in Uttarakhand state; details of dealership awarded in Uttarakhand State in rural market or for rural sector; details of petrol/diesel pump licence awarded in Uttarakhand state for private purpose or own use and so on. In respect of point Nos. 1, 3, 4, 6, 11, 12 & 13, he sought the information in a particular format which he himself had prescribed.
3. The CPIO vide his letter dated 22.02.2013 informed the Appellant that “the data requested by you is very voluminous and collating such information will disproportionately engage our resources and time, which will not be commensurate with information requested, hence denied under section 7(9) An information shall ordinarily be provided in the form in which it is sought unless it would disproportionately divert the resources of the public authority or would be detrimental to the safety or preservation of the record in question. of the Right to Information Act, 2005.” He, however, requested the Appellant to be specific to enable them to provide the information subject to its availability.
4. Aggrieved by this reply of the CPIO, the Appellant filed an appeal dated 01.03.2013 before the Appellate Authority which the Appellate Authority decided vide his order dated 10.04.2013. The Appellate Authority by this order furnished pointwise reply /information to the Appellant. He however denied certain information i.e. phone numbers of dealers (point 1 and 13 of RTI application] under section 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. of the RTI Act; details of rent paid by the company for dealer leased outlets [point 2(a)] under section 8(1)(d) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information including commercial confidence, trade secrets or intellectual property, the disclosure of which would harm the competitive position of a third party, unless the competent authority is satisfied that larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information; Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information including commercial confidence, trade secrets or intellectual property, the disclosure of which would harm the competitive position of a third party, unless the competent authority is satisfied that larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information; Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information including commercial confidence, trade secrets or intellectual property, the disclosure of which would harm the competitive position of a third party, unless the competent authority is satisfied that larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information; Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information including commercial confidence, trade secrets or intellectual property, the disclosure of which would harm the competitive position of a third party, unless the competent authority is satisfied that larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information; & (e) of the RTI Act; corpus fund given and recovery made [point No. 6] under section 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; 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; 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; 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; 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; of the RTI Act; and information regarding sales of MS/HSD of ROs [point No.12] under section 8(1)(d) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information including commercial confidence, trade secrets or intellectual property, the disclosure of which would harm the competitive position of a third party, unless the competent authority is satisfied that larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information; Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information including commercial confidence, trade secrets or intellectual property, the disclosure of which would harm the competitive position of a third party, unless the competent authority is satisfied that larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information; Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information including commercial confidence, trade secrets or intellectual property, the disclosure of which would harm the competitive position of a third party, unless the competent authority is satisfied that larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information; Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information including commercial confidence, trade secrets or intellectual property, the disclosure of which would harm the competitive position of a third party, unless the competent authority is satisfied that larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information; of the RTI Act. He also asked the Appellant to clarify his requirement in respect of point Nos. 4&5 of the RTI application, while observing that information sought in these points is not clear.
5. The Appellant then filed the present appeal before the Commission wherein he, while challenging the denial of information by the Appellate Authority, also stated that information given in respect of point Nos. 4, 5, 7 & 8 of the RTI application is “insufficient and unclear”.
6. During the hearing, the points brought up by the Appellant in present appeal were discussed as given below:
Point No. 2(a):
7. The Appellant in this point wanted to obtain “dealerwise detail of Rent paid by the company for dealer leased outlets” which the Respondents denied citing exemption under section 8(1)(d) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information including commercial confidence, trade secrets or intellectual property, the disclosure of which would harm the competitive position of a third party, unless the competent authority is satisfied that larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information; Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information including commercial confidence, trade secrets or intellectual property, the disclosure of which would harm the competitive position of a third party, unless the competent authority is satisfied that larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information; Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information including commercial confidence, trade secrets or intellectual property, the disclosure of which would harm the competitive position of a third party, unless the competent authority is satisfied that larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information; Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information including commercial confidence, trade secrets or intellectual property, the disclosure of which would harm the competitive position of a third party, unless the competent authority is satisfied that larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information; & 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; 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; 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; 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; 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; of the RTI Act.
8. The Commission observes that there is nothing in the information sought by the Appellant in this point which would harm the competitive position of third party if allowed to be disclosed. Neither is there any element of “fiduciary relationship” in this information as given in section 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; 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; 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; 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; 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; of the RTI Act. The CPIO is therefore hereby directed to furnish this information to the Appellant.
Point No. 4:
9. In this point the Appellant sought for details of petrol/diesel pump licence awarded by the BPCL in Uttarakhand state for private purpose or own use in a particular format which he himself had prescribed. The Respondents requested the Appellant to clarify his query as according to them it was not clear.
10. The Commission also finds that the information sought by the Appellant in this point is not specific. He is thus advised to be more specific about his requirement for information and seek specific and precise information for a reasonable period.
Point No. 5:
11. In this point the Appellant wanted to obtain copies of certain rules which he mentioned in sub clause a to e of this point. The Respondents requested the Appellant to clarify his query as according to them it was not clear
12. The Commission does not find any ambiguity in this point. The CPIO is therefore directed to furnish the copies of rule the Appellant had request for in this point. If any of the rules is found to be nonexistent, the CPIO shall categorically inform this fact to the Appellant.
Point No. 6:
13. The Appellant wanted to obtain details (i.e. names of allottees, corupus fund given to such allottees and recovery made by the company till date) of all allottees (dealership) in Uttarakhand state who avails the corpus fund facility. The Respondents provided only part information to the Appellant in this point. They declined the disclosure of corpus fund given and recovery made to the Appellant under section 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; 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; 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; 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; 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; of the RTI Act. During hearing, they, when asked, informed that corpus fund is a kind of facility of loan which is only available to the members of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe and to women.
14. The Commission observes that such nature of information does not fall under the expression “fiduciary relationship” as given in section 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; 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; 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; 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; 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; of the RTI Act. It is a facility which is being given to particular members of the society. Such transactions are required to be transparent. The CPIO is therefore directed to furnish this information to the Appellant.
Point Nos. 7 & 8:
15. The Appellant’s queries in these points read as follows:
“7Kindly provide details of all permissions required to be fulfill, before the operation of dealership begins. Kindly provide copy of format and set of rules or guidelines framed in this behalf.”
“8Kindly provide details of all basis facility (fixed facility) to be set up after award of dealership under various category of license. Kindly give copy of all directions issued in this behalf by the company from inception till date.”
16. The Respondents informed that this information is available on their website and that they have communicated this fact to the Appellant.
17. The CPIO is hereby directed to provide to the Appellant the exact link on the website where the above information is available.
Point No. 12:
18. The Appellant in this point wanted to obtain list of petrol/diesel intake of dealer in a particular format which includes name of petrol pump; name of dealer who operated such petrol pump; Total MS & HSD & Lubricants for the period 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012. The Respondents denied this information under section 8(1)(d) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information including commercial confidence, trade secrets or intellectual property, the disclosure of which would harm the competitive position of a third party, unless the competent authority is satisfied that larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information; Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information including commercial confidence, trade secrets or intellectual property, the disclosure of which would harm the competitive position of a third party, unless the competent authority is satisfied that larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information; Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information including commercial confidence, trade secrets or intellectual property, the disclosure of which would harm the competitive position of a third party, unless the competent authority is satisfied that larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information; Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information including commercial confidence, trade secrets or intellectual property, the disclosure of which would harm the competitive position of a third party, unless the competent authority is satisfied that larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information; of the RTI Act on the grounds that information regarding sale of MS/HSD of Retail Outlets would harm the competitive position of the concerned RO.
19. The Commission finds merit in the contention of the Respondents that the intake of MS/HSD of ROs is of commercial confidence, the disclosure of which may harm the competitive position of the third party. The Appellant moreover has not established any larger public interest for disclosure of the information. The decision of the Respondents is, therefore, upheld.
20. Appeal is disposed of with the above directions, which are to be complied with within 3 weeks of receipt of this order.
(Sushma Singh)
Chief Information Commissioner
Citation: Shri Jai Pal Singh v. Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited in Case No. CIC/LS/A/2013/001626SS