Disclosure regarding insurance claim under RTI after the disposal of the claim

Background

The appellant filed an application under the Right to Information (RTI) act with the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), Hyderabad seeking the details of a letter written by him to M/s Baja Allianz General Insurance CO. Ltd, Pune. The Public Information Officer (PIO) informed the appellant that information can be directly taken from to M/s Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Co. Ltd.

Proceedings

During the hearing before the Central Information Commission (CIC), the respondent submitted that the third party has refused to allow the disclosure of information and the appellant has not established any larger Public Interest in disclosing the information. The appellant submitted that as the Insurance claim had been discharged and the matter has been already disposed of, the same becomes the Public Document and can be disclosed under the RTI Act.

View of CIC

The Central Information Commission (CIC) disagreed with the reasoning submitted by the appellant and observed that the ‘character’ of the information which is ‘personal’ information of the third party does not change even after the Insurance claim is disposed of, and the same cannot be disclosed under the RTI Act, 2005 unless some larger Public Interest in disclosing the information is established by the appellant. The Commission rejected the appeal stating that no larger Public Interest in disclosing the information has been established by the appellant.

Citation: Mr. R. Srinivas v. IRDA in Appeal: No. CIC/DS/A/2011/003918