An internal administrative resolution cannot legally supersede the statutory right to information granted under the RTI Act, 2005, and an evaluated answer-book is generally considered 'information' accessible to the examinee.

Relevant dates emerging from the appeal:

CORAM

Chief Information Commissioner: RAJ KUMAR GOYAL

O R D E R

1. The Appellant filed an RTI application dated 23.08.2024, before the CPIO, Delhi Subordinate Services Selection Board (DSSSB), seeking information as under:

“Enclosed please find the copy of my Admit card issued by the Honourable controller of the Exam, DSSSB. I appeared for the Descriptive Exam (Tier-2) for the post of Junior Judicial Assistant (JJA), Post Code-802/24 My details are as follows:

Name: Kunal Kashyap

Father's Name: Sushil Kashyap

Roll Number: 248022201001806

Registration Number: 2501199561948062010

Date of Birth: 25-01-1995

Date of Exam and Shift: 02-06-2024, 08:30 AM-10:30 AM

Please provide me a certified copy of my answer sheet for the above-mentioned examination under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005.”

2. The CPIO replied to the RTI Application on 19.09.2024, as under:

“As per policy of the Board, the descriptive sheet of the candidate cannot be disclosed.”

3. Aggrieved with the CPIO’s reply, the Appellant filed a First Appeal dated 21.09.2024, stating as under:

“(1) With reference to the reply dt. 19-09-2024 to this RTI Application. The reply received is as below:

"As per the policy of the Board, the descriptive answer sheet of the candidate cannot be disclosed".

No document was attached with the above reply. Please provide me certified copies of all related documents of the policy of the Board in respect of furnishing an assessed copy of the descriptive answer sheet requested by its respective candidate during the ongoing recruitment process.

(2) Maintaining and giving answer copies may be an extra workload, but it is not a reasonable excuse to deny this information under RTI Act, 2005. If no related documents exist as requested in Point no. (1), please provide me a certified copy of my answer sheet duly assessed by the checkers bearing roll no. 248022201001806 and application no 80049089 of Tier-2 Descriptive Examination for the post of JJA (Post code 802/24). My admit card for the respective examination is also attached for your kind reference.

Please provide me a copy of all relevant documents in respect of information sought under point 1 & 2 above. If the information sought by me doesn't pertain to your office, my application may be transferred to appropriate Public Authority/PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER (PIO) under SECTION 6(3) of RTI ACT 2005 immediately.”

4. The FAA vide order dated 22.10.2024, upheld the reply of the CPIO.

5. Aggrieved with the FAA’s order, the Appellant approached the Commission with the instant Second Appeal on 11.11.2024.

Hearing Proceedings & Decision

6. The Appellant remained absent during the hearing. On behalf of the Respondent, Radhey Shyam Meena, DS & CPIO along with Raju Chaudhary, SA attended the hearing in person.

7. The Commission took on record the written submissions dated 24.04.2026 of the Appellant, reiterating the material facts available on record. Further, the following contentions were made:

“(i) The Board Resolution & Supremacy of the RTI Act (Section 22): The Respondent has denied information citing a Board Resolution issued vide F. No. 5(01)/2019/DSSSB/Admn/625-31 dated 14.03.2019. The same was provided by RTI Reply dt. 28.07.2025 by the CPIO, DSSSB to the applicant. The reply to the RTI has been annexed as Annexure A-1 for kind reference.

It is further sub