Marital status indicated by his wife in her passport renewal application

The appellant sought certified copy of passport renewal application of his wife Mrs. Shaily Mishra Mittal along with documents submitted for passport renewal. The PIO replied that the Appellant was seeking personal information of a third party exempted from disclosure under Section 8 (1) (j) of the RTI Act. Appellant submitted before the CIC that he wants to know the marital status indicated by his wife in her passport renewal application as it is his apprehension that false information regarding her marital status has been indicated. He contended that the information sought was not exempted from disclosure as per Section 8 (1) (j) of the RTI Act as he was seeking details regarding his legally wedded wife who cannot be considered as a third party as their marriage is presently valid. The CIC held that an appropriate response in accordance with the provisions of the RTI Act has been provided as the Appellant is seeking personal information of a third party contained in her passport, disclosure of which is exempted u/s 8 (1) (j) of the RTI Act.

Comments

The use of RTI Act in quasi-judicial proceedings is not uncommon where the applicant tries to use another channel instead of the regular appellate remedy. Such attempts can provide a meaningful result only in cases where “information” is sought and there are no prescribed ways to obtain it.

Citation: Shri Prem Prakash v. Competition Commission of India, CIC/CPCOI/A/2023/105991; Date of Decision: 28.03.2024