Professional Documents
Culture Documents
"Privacy As A Basis of Claiming Exemption": Scope of Section 8 (1) (J) of The RTI Act
"Privacy As A Basis of Claiming Exemption": Scope of Section 8 (1) (J) of The RTI Act
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.
Scope of the section 8(1) (j):When someone is seeking information about himself he cant be stopped by section 8 (1) (j) of
the act but when a person seeks information about third party that would amount to the personal
information and only then it can be called Intrusion of privacy.
Intrusion of privacy as defined by central information commission is one when someone
intentionally intrudes physically or otherwise upon the solitude or seclusion of another or his
private affairs or concerns is subject to liability to other for invasion of his privacy if the
intrusion would be highly offensive to reasonable person.
It must not be thought that personal information becomes public as soon as it goes in the domain
of public authority and it is also the duty of public authority that it should not allow personal
information to go in the hands of those who can use it for mischief, harassment, intimidation and
worse.
Personal information does not mean information about information seeker but about third party.
When someone seeks information about himself question of intrusion of privacy does not arise.
Lacuna in the section:The lacuna in the section 8(1) (j) is use of wide open term Personal Information which is being
interpreted openly by one person to another for defending their interest .No public authority can
deny the information with mala fide intent and at the same time domains of private and public
information must not be breached.
It is however very difficult to strike a balance between right to privacy and right to know because
one cannot be set aside as both forms the basic structure of the constitution.
What can be done:-Right to information act 2005 section 8(1)(j) is in urgent need of amendment
as it does not categorize what falls under personal information and what does not. Need of the
hour is to define the term Personal Information so that whenever this type of problem comes in
a court, judges should give weightage to the statue rather than their own interpretation of term
Personal Information . It is expected from concerned PIO that term should be made more
confirmative and definite, so that problems arising under this section can be solved easily. This
can be done by following common law principle of adherence to case laws.
A Landmark Judgment Which will set New Legal Principle:The CPIO, Supreme court of India vs. Subhash Chandra agrawal And Anr W.P (c) 288/2009
decided on 02/09/2009
In this case Subhash Chandra Agrawal sought information relating to the declaration of assets by
the Honble Judges of Supreme court as well as the chief justice of the state high courts. The
Delhi high court gave judgment in favor of applicant and ordered the first petitioner CPIO shall
release the information sought by subhash Chandra agrawal about the declaration made by
Judges of supreme court of their assets within four weeks.
When this matter went to Supreme Court, court held that The case on hand raises important
questions of constitutional importance relating to the position of Honble CJI under the
constitution and independence of judiciary in the scheme of the constitution on the one hand and
on the other of Fundamental right of speech and expression. Right To Information is an integral
part of the fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression guaranteed by constitution and
now supreme court has referred this case to constitution bench.
Conclusion:Faith in the democratic form of government rests on the old dictum, Let people have the truth
and freedom to discuss it and all will go well.
Men alone of all the creatures has been endowed with the power of reasoning which can
germinate thoughts and as a necessary condition for self-fulfillment, he should have uninhibited
right to express them with this expectation our founding fathers of constitution included right to
freedom of speech and expression as fundamental right .In last 50 years we have done a fair job
by having Freedom of Information act 2002, Right to information act 2005 but still there is need
to strike a fine balance between ones right to have information and others Right of privacy.
"A popular Government without popular information or the means of acquiring it, is but a
Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy or perhaps both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and
a people who mean to be their own Governors, must arm themselves with the power knowledge
gives."- JAMES MADISON
************************
# Preface to RIGHT TO INFORMATION LAW AND PRACTICE by Dr. Madabhusi Sridhar
Professor NALSAR Hyderabad.
# Rig-Veda (1-891)
# Right to Information act 2005 section 8(1)(j)
# Discussed in Lawyers Club of India dated 31/05/2011
# Laid down in Shri Rakesh Kumar Singh vs. Loksabha secretariat CIC/WB/A/2006/
# 162(2009)DLT135
# 2011 3 AWC2405SC