The State Information Commission must consider relevant provisions and judgments under the Right to Information Act, 2005 when deciding appeals.

JUDGMENT :

VIKAS BAHL, J.

1. This is a Civil Writ Petition filed under Articles 226/227 of the Constitution of India for the issuance of a writ, order or direction especially in the nature of certiorari for quashing the order dated 14.02.2023 (Annexure P-17) passed by the State Information Commission, Haryana-respondent No.1 in Appeal Case No.4901 of 2022 titled as “Shish Pal Vs. The State Public Information Officer and another”. Challenge in the present writ petition has also been made to the order dated 16.06.2022 (Annexure P-8) passed by respondent No.3 and order dated 05.07.2022 (Annexure P-10) passed by respondent No.2.

2. Brief facts of the present case are that the petitioner had filed an application before the State Public Information Officer under the Right to Information Act, 2005 (hereinafter referred to as “the Act of 2005”), in which, the following information was sought:-

“It is humbly submitted that the following information may please be supplied as early as possible:-

1. Please provide a certified copy of Divyang Certificate of all Person with Benchmark Disability Candidates who had been shortlisted for document verification held on dated 23-25 July, 2019 for the post of Clerk, Advertisement. No. 01/2018 and for which final Result had been declared on 27/07/2019.

2. Please provide a certified copy of Verification report of Disability Certificate of all selected Person with Benchmark Disability Candidates by concerned authority for the post of Clerk, Advertisement. No. 01/2018.

It is requested that all the requisite documents/certified copies desired above may please be provided under attestation by your office & send details of additional charges, if any, at under mentioned address. However, the requisite fee in the shape of Postal order of Rs.30 has been enclosed against the minimum required fee of Rs.10/- to cover the cost of information charges.”

3. In the reply, vide letter dated 16.06.2022 (Annexure P-8), the SPIO stated that the information sought was personal information and was exempted from disclosure under Section 8(1)(j) of the Act of 2005. Aggrieved against the same, the petitioner had filed the first appeal on 23.06.2022 (Annexure P-9), which was dismissed vide order dated 05.07.2022 (Annexure P-10). The petitioner, thereafter, filed the second statutory appeal on 09.07.2022 (Annexure P-11) and in the grounds of appeal, specific reference was made to the judgment dated 16.05.2018 passed by the Central Information Commission which, as per the case of the petitioner, squarely covered the case in favour of the petitioner. The Second Appellate Authority i.e. the State Information Commission, Haryana, vide its order dated 14.02.2023 (Annexure P-17) dismissed the said appeal without making any reference to the judgment dated 16.05.2018 relied upon by the petitioner.

4. Learned counsel for the petitioner has submitted that the issue, in the present case, is “as to whether the Disability Certificate which has been submitted by the shortlisted candidates in pursuance of the Advertisement No.1 of 2018 can been given to the petitioner who himself has participated in pursuance of the said advertisement and is himself disabled to the extent of 80%”. It is submitted that the Central Information Commission, while considering a similar case, had observed that the Certificate issued by the authority which is an essential prerequisite to claim the benefits/concessions prescribed under social welfare legislations cannot become a private or personal document of the holder and would be a public document within the meaning of Section 74 of the Indian Evidence Act and that the Certificate which has been issued by a public authority to a candidate, who becomes a public servant or beneficiary of the public scheme based on the Certificate of disability, could not be stated to be ‘private’ or ‘personal’ but is a document which is a public document as per Section 74(iii) and is accessible under Section 76 of the Indian Evidence Act.