Point of Law: Section 11 of Right to Information Act, 2005 relates to disclosure of third party information.

JUDGMENT :

The instant writ petition has been filed challenging the order dated 27.05.2014 passed by the respondent No.1 as the Second Appellant Authority under the Right to Information Act, 2005 whereby the decision of the First Appellate Authority under the Right to Information Act, 2005 dated 15.12.2011 was upheld.

2. The facts involved in the instant case is that the respondent No.4 herein had filed an application before the Central Public Information Officer, Office of the Assistant Commissioner of Central Excise, G. S. Road, Bhangagarh on 01.09.2011 seeking various information under the provisions of Right to Information Act, 2005.

3. A perusal of the said information so sought for would show that the said information pertains to granting of the eligibility status of the petitioners’ Company under the Industrial Policy of 1997 and the exemption to be granted in terms with the Central Excise Notification No.33/99-CE and Notification No.32/99-CE, both dated 08.07.1999 and the orders passed by the public authorities. It reveals from the records that the said application was rejected by the Public Information Officer, i.e. the respondent No.3. Thereupon, the respondent No.4 preferred an appeal before the First Appellate Authority, i.e. the respondent No.2. The respondent No.2 vide an order dated 15.12.2011, taking into account that the information so sought for were in respect to certain actions and orders being passed by the public authorities which can be revealed under the Right to Information Act, 2005 directed the respondent No.3 to provide copies of all documents containing the information sought for by the respondent No.4 within 30 days of the receipt of the said order subject to realization of the appropriate fees as laid down in the Right to Information (Regulation of Fee & Cost) Rules, 2005. The petitioners herein being aggrieved preferred a second appeal before the respondent No.1 and the second appeal was dismissed vide an order dated 27.05.2014 thereby affirming the order passed by the First Appellate Authority. Being aggrieved, the petitioners are before this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution.

4. Mr. A. Das, the learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioners submits that the First Appellate Authority as well as the Second Appellate Authority did not take into consideration Section 8 (1) (d) and 8 (1) (e) which were exceptions from disclosure of information and the case of the petitioners herein falls squarely within the said purview of the said provisions, and as such, the First Appellate Authority as well as the Second Appellate Authority erred in law in directing the respondent No.3 to provide the said information.

5. This Court finds it relevant at this stage to take note of that Section 8 (1) begins with the non-obstinate phrase “notwithstanding anything contained in this Act”. The import of this phrase is that Sub-Section (1) of Section 8 carves out an exception to the general obligation to disclose under the Right to Information Act, 2005 (for short, ‘The RTI Act’) where the conditions set out in any of the Sub-Clauses in Clause (1) of Section 8 are satisfied, the Information Officer is under no obligation to provide information to the applicant. It is further seen that by expressly enumerating the circumstances in which the disclosure of information may be restricted on the ground of certain identified harm, the RTI Act negates the notion that the information may be withheld on the grounds of confidentiality simplicitor. A harm under Section 8(1) must be identified and invoked to justify the non-disclosure of a document requested for under the RTI Act. It is also pertinent to note that Clauses (a), (b), (c), (f) (g) and (h) to Sub-Section (1) of Section 8 provide an absolute exemption from the obligation of disclosure under the RIT Act. However, Clauses (d), (e), (i) and (j) to Sub-Clause (1) of Section 8 provide qualified exemption from disclosure, viz. while Sub-Clause (a) of Clause (1) of