An examining authority may claim exemption under Section 8(1)(d) of the RTI Act, 2005, from disclosing recruitment question papers if such papers constitute a limited, repeated question bank where disclosure would compromise the selection process, subject to allowing candidates supervised inspection to ensure transparency.

Relevant facts emerging from appeal:

RTI application filed on : 14.12.2024

CPIO replied on : 13.01.2025

First appeal filed on : 21.01.2025

First Appellate Authority’s order : 18.02.2025

2nd Appeal dated : Nil

Information sought:

1. The Appellant filed an RTI application dated 14.12.2024 seeking the following information:

“With reference to Advt. No. IISERT/HR/0004/2023, I have applied for the post of Assistant Librarian and appeared for the written test held on 04.12.2023. As a candidate, I received a copy of my answer sheet (AL01-0108) by mail on the same day. In this regard, I request you to kindly provide the question paper and answer key of the same to verify my answers and mistakes.”

2. The CPIO furnished a reply to the Appellant on 13.01.2025 stating as under:

“The answer sheet has been shared to you vide email mentioned in the application Since the policy decision on publicly disclosing of QPs of the written examinations has not been made yet, the same cannot be shared. The answer key has been uploaded on the institute's website.”

3. Aggrieved by the decision of the CPIO, the Appellant filed a First Appeal dated 21.01.2025. The FAA vide its order dated 18.02.2025, upheld the reply of the CPIO.

4. Challenging the FAA’s order, Appellant is before the Commission with the instant Second Appeal.

Relevant Facts emerged during Hearing:

The following were present:-

Appellant: Shri Gideon Shaji present through video conference.

Respondent: Shri Sreeram VK, AR/CPIO present through video conference.

5. Written statement dated 24.04.2026 filed by the CPIO is taken on record.

6. Appellant while expressing his dissatisfaction on the CPIO’s reply states that the CPIO and FAA, IISER refuses to disclose the question paper, citing a policy decision that has remained unimplemented since its foundation in 2008. On the day of the examination, the recruitment authorities claimed to uphold fairness and integrity. To support this, they sent candidates’ response sheets via email of the candidates and also published the answer key on their website on the very first evening of the date of examination. However, in the absence of question paper, the Appellant stated that it is not possible to evaluate his own performance. It is important to note that this request is not related to a general policy of publicly displaying question papers for written examinations. Instead, it pertains to a candidate who participated in the exam and received a copy of their response sheet but now requires the corresponding question paper to verify their answers. This is a direct communication between the institution and the concerned candidate, intended to ensure transparency and fairness in the recruitment process. It was the plea of the Appellant that the institution has consistently denying access to critical recruitment-related information under the pretext of policy matters, despite no concrete decision being made on the issue for years. Appellant contended that the institutions like IIT Delhi, NTA disclose their recruitment question papers and answer keys under the suo-moto provisions of the RTI Act, 2005. In light of this, Appellant prayed the Commission for a copy of question paper for the written examination for the post of Assistant Librarian, as a candidate who attended the exam.

7. Per contra, the CPIO by placing reliance on his written statement dated 24.04.2026 submitted that their institute conducts a limited number of recruitment examinations and some of the questions from t