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Showing contexts for: rti third party in Centre For Development Of Advanced ... vs Brig. (Retd.) Ujjal Dasgupta & Anr. on 6 April, 2010Matching Fragments
6. While directing notice to be issued in this petition on 20th May 2009, this Court stayed the operation of the impugned order.
7. This Court has heard the submissions of Mr. Dayan Krishnan, the learned counsel appearing for the CDAC, Mr. Vivek Bishnoi, counsel appearing for Respondent No. 1 and Mr. P.P. Malhotra, the learned ASG appearing for Respondent No.2 Union of India.
8. Section 11 of the RTI Act which deals with third party information reads as under:
"11. Third party information. (1)Where a Central Public Information Officer or the State Public information Officer, as the case may be intends to disclose any information or record, or part thereof on a request made under this Act, which relates to or has been supplied by a third party and has been treated as confidential by that third party, the Central Public Information Officer or State Public Information Officer, as the case may be, shall, within five days from the receipt of the request, give a written notice to such third party of the request and of the fact that the Central Public Information Officer or State Public Information Officer, as the case may be, intends to disclose the information or record, or part thereof, and invite the third party to make a submission in writing or orally, regarding whether the information should be disclosed, and such submission of the third party shall be kept in view while taking a decision about disclosure of information:
10. Third party information also assumes relevance in the context of Section 19(4) of the RTI Act which enables the CIC, while hearing an appeal, to ascertain the response of the third party. Section 19(4) of the RTI Act reads as under:
"19. Appeal. (4) If the decision of the Central Public Information Officer or State Public Information Officer, as the case may be, against which an appeal is preferred relates to information of a third party, the Central Information Commission or State Information Commission, as the case may be shall give a reasonable opportunity of being heard to that third party."
11. It is plain to this Court from a reading of Sections 11 and 19(4) of the RTI Act that once the CIC acknowledges that the information sought pertains to a third party, in this case, R&AW, then without notice to such third party and hearing its views in the matter, the CIC cannot proceed further in the matter. Whether in fact the public interest in the disclosure of the information outweighed in importance any possible harm or injury to the interest of such third party in terms of the provision of Section 11(1) of the RTI Act, had to be decided by the CIC only after hearing such third party. Inasmuch as the software of the Project Anveshak has been developed exclusively for the R&AW, the question of disclosure of any such information had to be decided only after hearing the R&AW.