The main legal point established in the judgment is the need to balance the right to information with the right to confidentiality or privacy, and the application of the test of larger public interest to determine whether disclosure of third party information is warranted.

SANJIV KHANNA, J.

These three connected intra court appeals assail the decision dated 30th July, 2010, disposing of the Writ Petition (Civil) No. 6614/2008 filed by the appellant and the Writ Petition (Civil) Nos. 8999/2008 and 8407/2009, filed by the Union of India. Some interim applications have also been disposed of by the impugned decision.

2. Facts of the case need not be stated in detail as the appellant has primarily questioned and challenged the interpretation of Section 11 of the Right to Information Act, 2005 (Act, for short) in the impugned decision. In these circumstances, we refrain and do not go into the other aspects especially as by the impugned decision the matter has been remitted to Central Information Commission.

3. The Act in question was enacted on 15th June, 2005 for setting out a practical regime to enable citizens to secure access to information with the “public authorities” in order to ensure transparency and accountability. The Act ensures greater and more effective access to information and makes the Indian democracy more participatory and meaningful. The introductory note to the preamble of the Act itself stipulates as under:- “AND WHEREAS democracy requires an informed citizenry and transparency of information which are vital to its functioning and also to contain corruption and to hold Governments and their instrumentalities accountable to the governed; AND WHEREAS revelation of information in actual practice is likely to conflict with other public interest including efficient operations of the Governments, optimum use of limited fiscal resources and the presentation of confidentiality of sensitive information; AND WHEREAS it is necessary to harmonise these conflicting interests while preserving the paramountcy of the democratic ideal;”

4. The Act provides for provisions to ensure maximum disclosure and grounds on which disclosure can be denied, the entire machinery and establishment of an appellate authority, i.e. the Central Information Commission (or “the CIC” for short), with the power to review decisions and penal provisions on failure to provide information as per law etc.

5. Section 11 of the Act has been given a marginal heading “third party information”. The term “third party” has been defined in Section 2(n) of the Act to mean any other person including a “public authority” except the citizen who makes a request for information. Thus, a public authority which has the information or access to the information can be a third person. Section 8 of the Act provides exemptions when information is not to be furnished or given. To interpret Section 11, one has to keep in mind and also consider the exemptions provided in Section 8(1) of the Act. For the sake of convenience Section 2(n), Section 8 and Section 11 of the Act are reproduced below:-

“2. Definition- ………. (n) "third party" means a person other than the citizen making a request for information and includes a public authority.” X X X X

8. Exemption from disclosure of information:-

(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen,-

(a) information, disclosure of which would prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security, strategic, scientific or economic interests of the State, relation with foreign State or lead to incitement of an offence;

(b) information which has been expressly forbidden to be published by any court of law or tribunal or the disclosure of which may constitute contempt of court;

(c) information, the disclosure of which would cause a breach of privilege of Parliament or the State Legislature;

(d) 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;

(e) information available to a person in his fiduciary relations