Using RTI to know the basis for defining medical terms for Medi-claim policy

Background

The appellant submitted an application under Right to Information (RTI) act with the New India Assurance Company Limited seeking information regarding which books / laws/ acts/ regulations are taken as authority by the Company for defining medical and other terms not covered under clause 3 of Medi-claim policy (2007) along with the interpretative rules framed for the above mentioned policy. He also asked for the file number under which the said policy was framed and number of pages that it contained. The Public Information Officer (PIO) denied the information stating that no specific information as defined under section 2 (f) of the RTI Act had been sought.

Proceedings

During the hearing before the Central Information Commission (CIC), the PIO submitted that no such documents were available with the public authority. Regarding the file in which the policy was framed, he claimed 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; of the RTI Act.

View of CIC

The Central Information Commission (CIC) accepted the contentions of the respondent and rejected the appeal.

Citation: Mr. Samartha Raj Singh v. New India Assurance Co. Limited in Appeal: No. CIC/DS/A/2011/003983