Information regarding leave fare concession availed by a Bank Manager was denied Section 8(1)(e) & (j) - Appellant alleged misuse of the leave fare concession facility - CIC: provide information regarding leave fare concession financed from public funds
22 Aug, 2014Facts
This matter pertains to an RTI application dated 21.3.2013 filed by the Appellant, seeking information on ten points regarding leave fare concession availed of by a Manager in the Respondent Bank. The CPIO responded on 2.4.2013 and denied the information 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; and 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. Not satisfied with the reply of the CPIO, the Appellant filed an appeal to the First Appellate Authority on 22.4.2013. In his order dated 24.5.2013, the FAA upheld the CPIO’s reply. The Appellant approached the CIC in second appeal on 3.7.2013.
2. We heard the submissions of the Appellant and the Respondents. The Respondents reiterated the reply of the CPIO and submitted that the information sought by the Appellant contains some information concerning the Manager in question, which is personal in nature. The Appellant stated that there has been misuse of the leave fare concession facility in the Bank and he had sought the information in this context. The Respondents submitted that the Appellant has also filed a petition on this issue in the High Court of Delhi and it is pending in that Court.
3. We have considered the records and the submissions made by both the parties before us. The Commission has, in its earlier decisions, been ordering the release of information regarding leave fare concession financed from public funds. In the light of the foregoing, we direct the CPIO to provide information in response to queries No. 1 (B), 2, 4, 5 and 9 of the RTI application to the Appellant, within twenty days of the receipt of this Order, under intimation to the Commission.
4. With the above direction, the appeal is disposed of.
5. Copies of this order be given free of cost to the parties.
(Sharat Sabharwal)
Information Commissioner
Citation: Shri Yatendra Kumar Jain v. Syndicate Bank in File No. CIC/VS/A/2013/001180/SH