DATE WITH RTI

Third party notice not necessary in all cases

The details of certain telephone number and the monthly amount paid for it was denied to the appellant. The appellant submitted that even if the information is related to the third parties, the PIO was bound to follow the procedure laid down under section 11 of the RTI Act. The CIC rejected the contention of the appellant that the CPIO should have followed the procedure u/s 11 of the RTI Act before denying the information. The CIC observed that the procedure u/s 11 of the RTI Act is only to be followed in such cases where the PIO intends to disclose any information related to a third party, which was not the case in the present matter as the PIO had outrightly denied the information while stating that the information is related to third party.

Comments

Section 11(1) of the RTI Act says that where the PIO intends to disclose any third party information on a request made under this Act, the PIO shall, give a written notice to such third party of the request and of the fact that the PIO intends to disclose the information and invite the third party to make a submission regarding whether the information should be disclosed.

Citation: C Christu Raj v. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) in File no.: CIC/BSNLD/A/2019/639531, Date of Decision: 07/09/2020

Dr. Anuradha Verma (dranuradhaverma@yahoo.co.in) is an expert on RTI matters and has co-authored the books RIGHT TO INFORMATION - LAW AND PRACTICE and PIO’s guide to RTI. Apart from her weekly article here, her other articles can be read at the website of RTI Foundation of India at the link: www.rtifoundationofindia.com

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