The RTI Act mandates public authorities to disclose existing information, not to create new data, shielding commercially confidential information from disclosure.

Date of Hearing : 22.07.2025 Date of Decision : 22.07.2025 Chief Information Commissioner : Shri Heeralal Samariya Relevant facts emerging from appeal:

RTI application filed on : 05.03.2024 PIO replied on : 01.04.2024 First Appeal filed on : 04.04.2024 First Appellate Order on : 13.05.2024

2^ndAppeal/complaint received on : Nil Information sought and background of the case:

The Appellant filed an RTI application dated 05.03.2024 seeking information on following points:-

1. “Amount of total advertising expenditure by MOIL from 1st April 2021 to 31 January 2024

2. Copy of Release Order of All Advertisements issued by MOIL from 1st April 2021 to 31st January 2024

3. Copy of Marketing Policy Followed By MOIL

4. Copy of Advertising Policy Followed By MOIL

5. Copy of Media Policy Followed By MOIL.”

The CPIO, Maganese Ore (India) Ltd. vide letter dated 01.04.2024 replied as under:-

Ans.1 : As it is a commercial confidential information, so this information can’t be provided, Ans. 2: This is an information related to third party. Therefore, it can’t be given.

Ans. 3: All the documents related to marketing department like Business Policy, general terms & conditions etc. are available at MOIL website. Website Details: www.moil.nic.in Ans. for Q4 & Q5: There is no advertising & media policy in MOIL. Standard Operating General Procedure adopted for the purposes.”

Dissatisfied with the response received from the CPIO, the Appellant filed a First Appeal dated 04.04.2024. The FAA vide order dated 13.05.2024 stated as under:-

“..Reply to Appeal No 1 & 2: With regards to information sought in point No. 1 and 2. we are in agreement with the reply of CPIO and find no reason to interfere.

Reply to Appeal No 3: As regards information sought in point No.

3, the following is the direct link as requested by you:

xx……

Reply to Appeal No 4 & 5: In response to your application, the CPIO had replied vide letter dated 01.04.2024. Based on the response received from the Public Authority, you have preferred the present appeal seeking altogether new information. This amounts to repetition which is not allowed & there is a scope of repeating under the provisions of RTI act & no right given to citizens to repeat. The Central Information Commission vide its decision no. CIC/AD/A/2013/001326-SA dated 25th June 2016 has held in clear terms as under:

1. No scope for repeating under RTI Act

2. Citizen has no right to repeat

3. Repetition shall be ground of refusal

4. Appeals can be rejected Therefore, the SOP sought by you can’t be provided in view of the above...”

Aggrieved and dissatisfied, the Appellant approached the Commission with the instant Second Appeal.

Written submission dated 15.07.2025 has been received from the CPIO and same has been taken on record for perusal. The relevant extract whereof is as under:

1) “..The instant appeal is filed in respect of RTI application dated 05.03.2024 and appeal dated 04.04.2024. The applicant Shri Nitesh Yadav in his application dated 05.03.2024 had sought for amount of total advertising expenditure by MOIL alongwith copy of release order of all advertisements issued by MOIL from 01.04.2021 to 31.01.2024. The applicant also sought for marketing policy, advertising policy and media policy followed by MOIL.

2) It is most respectfully submitted that the documents related to total advertising expenditure in MOIL firstly relates to Commercially confidential information and hence was denied to be supplied under the provisions of RTI. Apart from the above, it is further important to mention that there is no separate advertising budget in MOIL and the expenditure for advertisement is done from and out of the Misc. Budget. Therefore, there exists no particular document maintained exclusively giving the total advertising expenditure in MOIL. As such it is not possible to give the information sought in the desired format. Similarly, as regards the release orders they specifically pertain to third party to whom the order is issued and hence exempted under