Under RTI, should the copies of documents be given after inspection?

Background        

The appellant sought the copies of his Provident Fund entries and other related matters. The Public Information Officer (PIO) denied the information under sections 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 8(1)(g) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information, the disclosure of which would endanger the life or physical safety of any person or identify the source of information or assistance given in confidence for law enforcement or security purposes; of the Right to Information (RTI) Act but gave the appellant an opportunity to inspect the relevant records. The First Appellate Authority rejected the grounds on which the PIO had withheld information and directed the Appellant to inspect the relevant documents. During the hearing before CIC, the appellant submitted that he had been permitted inspection of the ledgers but the photo copies of the same were not permitted.

View of CIC

The PIO agreed to provide the certified copies of the entries pertaining to the appellant in the two ledgers related to his Provident Fund account, and salary statement. The PIO also agreed to provide the computer printout of the above. The Central Information Commission (CIC) directed that the PIO to provide the sought information to the appellant.

Comments

The provident fund details of an individual are his personal information which is not liable to be disclosed to anyone except himself.

Citation: Dr. Krishna Prakash Gupta v. University of Delhi in File No.CIC/DS/A/2011/001411,1353/RM