The High Court was dealing with a petition filed by RTI activist Anjali Bhardwaj challenging the order of the Central Information Commission (CIC) dated January 28, 2021, by which it upheld the decision of the First Appellate Authority (FAA) denying her a copy of the minutes of the meetings of the Selection Committee constituted under the Lokpal and Lokayukta Act.
“The disclosure of information that forms the basis of the decisions of the Selection Committee is in the interest of the public at large since the public has a right to know the basis on which the chairperson and members of the Lokpal are selected,” the plea stated.
The petition, filed and argued through Advocate Prashant Bhushan, stated that the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) of the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) had refused to provide a copy of the minutes of the meetings of the Selection Committee.
The CPIO had claimed that the authorship of such documents by high-level dignitaries did not vest with the DoPT, and that the same had been shared as secret documents.
The plea argued that under the RTI Act, information can only be rejected on the grounds mentioned in Sections 8 or 9, and there is no provision for denying information on this ground.
Source: Barandbench
