Right to Information — Disclosure of order sheet noting and note sheets of public authority — Right to Information Act S. 8(j).

On an application filed seeking disclosure of order sheets and note sheets of public authority relat-ing to matter of encroachment, the State Chief Information Commissioner had directed the Public Information Officer of the Raipur Development Authority to supply the information in the form of order sheets.

The petitioner filed the petition challenging the le-gality of the order. The Court observed that as far as clause 8(j) of the Act is concerned, it would not come in the way of disclosure of information of the nature, which has been directed by the Chief Information Commissioner. The exemption from disclosure of the information under clause 8(j) of the Act is in relation to those categories of information, which are personal, the disclosure of which has no relationship to any public activity or interest or which would cause unwarranted invasion of the privacy of the individual. The disclosure of order sheets and note sheets of a public authority with regard to various actions taken by it, cannot be said to be a matter relating to personal information of the petitioner, having no relation to any public activity or interest. Moreover, it cannot be said that the disclosure of note sheets of the public functionary with regard to whatsoever activity it has undertaken in its capacity as such, would cause unwarranted invasion of the privacy of the petitioner. In any case, such exemption is not absolute, because even assuming that the information is personal in nature, disclosure of such, would be permissible, if the Information Officer is satisfied that the larger public interest justifies the disclosure of such information. The Court held that the disclosure of the order sheets or note sheets of the Development Authority with regard to steps, if any, taken after the order of the Court, would not be in any manner, a matter relating to disclosure of personal information of the category as stated under clause 8(j) of the Act.

The Court further observed that as far as violation of section 11 of the Act is concerned, the contents of note sheets and order sheets maintained by public authority, cannot be said to be information supplied by a third party to the Public Information Officer as confidential. From the fact there was no material disclosed to the Court to show that any confidential information given by the petitioner to the Development Authority was sought to be disclosed under the order impugned. In the order, the Chief Information Commissioner had not directed the Public Information Officer to disclose any information disclosed by the petitioner and treated by the Development Authority as confidential. There was no information sought by the respondent which is of the nature as contemplated u/s.11 of the Act, though the order of the Chief Information Commissioner is merely confined to disclosure of order sheets and note sheets after the order of the Court.

The provisions of section 3 of the Act state that subject to the provisions of the Act, all citizens shall have the right to information. If the same is read along with section 6 of the Act, it would be clear that in order to seek dis-closure of information, an information seeker is neither required to disclose invasion of any of his rights, nor any legal injury much less state reasons as to why he is seeking such information. The right is only subject to the provisions of the Act. Therefore, whatever may be the motive of the respondent and whether or not, any of his rights are affected, there is an obligation to provide information by the Information Officer, which of course, would be subject to other provisions of the Act.