Information relating to the minutes books of the board meetings of Board of Directors of New India Assurance was denied u/s 8(1)(d) & 8(1)(j) - CIC: provide the details severing the part which might harm the business interest of the public authority
17 Mar, 2014ORDER
Facts:
1. The appellant, Shri Shekhar Purushotam Kannao, has submitted RTI application dated 8 December 2012, before the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO), New India Assurance Co. Ltd., Mumbai; seeking information relating to the minutes books of the board meetings of Board of Directors held between 1.10.2010 to 1.12.2012.
2. Vide order dated 21 December 2012, CPIO sent him the reply he received from Company Secretary Department, Head Office, in which information sought was denied on the ground that proceedings of the Board Meetings were confidential information which included business strategies and critical information, hence were exempt as per Section 8 of the Act and therefore couldn’t be revealed. Not satisfied by the CPIO’s reply, the appellant preferred appeal dated 22 The provisions of this Act shall have effect notwithstanding anything inconsistent therewith contained in the Official Secrets Act, 1923 (19 of 1923), and any other law for the time being in force or in any instrument having effect by virtue of any law other than this Act. January 2013, to the First Appellate Authority (FAA). Vide order dated 23 January 2013, the FAA upheld the CPIO’s decision and clarified the provision under which information were denied as 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; & 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, 2005.
3. Being aggrieved and not satisfied by the above response of the public authority, the appellant preferred second appeal before the Commission.
4. The appellant submitted that he sought information/inspection of the minutes of the Board Meetings held between 1/10/20101/ 12/2012. The CPIO gave a reply that as the information sought contains confidential information; the appellant should specify clearly the meetings for which the information is required by him. The appellant in his first appeal dated 22 The provisions of this Act shall have effect notwithstanding anything inconsistent therewith contained in the Official Secrets Act, 1923 (19 of 1923), and any other law for the time being in force or in any instrument having effect by virtue of any law other than this Act. /1/2013 clearly specified that the information sought is w.r.t meetings in which the decisions were taken regarding the benefits to be given to ex employees of the public authority under the 2010 Notification issued by the Ministry of Finance, Government of India.
5. The CPIO submitted that as the information sought may contain confidential information disclosure of which harm the business interest of the organization, he would be needing time to check the records with the Company Secretary and provide the information to the appellant.
Decision Notice
6. The Commission directs the CPIO to check with the Company Secretary and provide the information to the appellant regarding minutes of the Board Meetings held between 1/10/20101/ 12/2012 in which the decisions were taken regarding the benefits to be given to ex employees of the public authority under the 2010 Notification issued by the Ministry of Finance, Government of India, severing the part the disclosure of which might harm the business interest of the public authority as per section 10 of the RTI Act.
7. Information as above is to be provided within 30 days of the receipt of the order of the Commission.
(Manjula Prasher)
Information Commissioner
Citation: Shri Shekhar Purushotam Kannao v. New India Assurance Co Ltd, in Appeal: No. CIC/DS/A/2013/000614/MP