Central Information Commission, New Delhi
File No.CIC/WB/C/2010/000221SM
Right to Information Act2005Under Section (19)
Date of hearing : 7 February 2011
Date of decision : 7 February 2011
Name of the Complainant : Smt. Syed Saba Rizvi
18/208, Indira Nagar,
Lucknow.
Name of the Public Authority : CPIO, Union Public Service Commission,
(Sangh Lok Seva Ayog),
Dholpur House, Shahjahan Road,
New Delhi - 110 069.
The Appellant was not present in spite of notice.
On behalf of the Respondent, the following were present:
(i) Shri Kulbir Singh, JD & CPIO,
(ii) Shri D.B. Das, US,
(iii) Shri Naresh Kaushik, Advocate
Chief Information Commissioner : Shri Satyananda Mishra
2. We heard this case through video conferencing. The Appellant was
present in the Lucknow studio of the NIC. The Respondents were present in our
chamber. We heard their submissions.
3. The Appellant had sought permission to examine personally the copy of
the Hindi subject in which she had secured only 55 marks. He had also wanted
CIC/WB/C/2010/000221SM
the photocopy of the answer sheets in the subject. The CPIO, it seems, had
denied the information by referring to certain decisions of the CIC in the matter
of disclosure of evaluated answer sheets. In the matter of Rakesh Kumar Singh
CIC/OK/A/2006/00066/00315, a Full Bench of the CIC had held:
In regard to public examinations conducted by institutions
established by the Constitution like the UPSC or institutions
established by any enactment by the Parliament rules made their
under like CBSE, Staff Selection Commission, Universities, et
cetera, the function of which is mainly to conduct examinations and
which have an established system as foolproof as that can be, and
which, by their own rules or regulations prohibit disclosure of
evaluated answer sheets or where the disclosure of evaluated
answer sheets would result in rendering the system unworkable in
practice and on the basis of the rationale followed by the Supreme
Court in the above two cases, we would like to put a traced the
matter of disclosure of answer sheets. We therefore decided that in
such cases, a citizen cannot seek disclosure of the evaluated
answer sheets under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
4. After carefully considering the submissions made by both the parties and
the facts of the case and after evaluating the request for information against the
decisions made by the Commission in the past in similar matters, we tend to
agree with the CPIO that the photocopies of the answer sheets or the front
page of these sheets cannot be disclosed. The remaining information having
been already disclosed, there is nothing more to decide in this case. The
appeal is disposed of accordingly.
CIC/WB/C/2010/000221SM
5. In the light of that decision, we find nothing wrong in the decision of the
CPIO. The appeal is disposed off accordingly.
6. Copies of this order be given free of cost to the parties.
(Satyananda Mishra)
Chief Information Commissioner
Authenticated true copy. Additional copies of orders shall be supplied against
application and payment of the charges prescribed under the Act to the CPIO of this
Commission.
(Vijay Bhalla)
Deputy Registrar
CIC/WB/C/2010/000221SM