No RTI exemption on panel formation: CIC by Tanu Sharma

The government cannot seek exemption of its orders constituting a committee for a specific purpose under the Right to Information Act. The Central Information Commission (CIC) has said that decisions directing the setting of an expert committee cannot be treated on the same footing as that of “Cabinet papers”, which are exempt from disclosure under the Act.

Allowing an appeal in a case where the applicant sought to know whether the state government has set up a panel or a committee to decide the extent of hike in circle rates, Information Commissioner Shailesh Gandhi refused to accept the Public Information Officer’s reasoning for denying it. A Delhi-based resident had asked the revenue department to furnish him with a copy of the order, if it has been passed. However, the government refused to part with it contending that a policy proposal in the form of a Cabinet note was moved by the department on the revision of the circle rates. Since no formal orders were issued, the PIO claimed exemption, saying deliberations of the Cabinet are exempted under Section 8(1)(I) of the Act.

The CIC said, “In the instant case, the Commission is unable to understand how an order constituting a panel/ committee can be brought within the ambit of ‘Cabinet papers including records of deliberations of the Council of Ministers, Secretaries and other officers’ and therefore be exempted under Section 8(1)(i) of the RTI Act.”