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TMI Blog2011 (7) TMI 1012X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... includes the inspection of the assets details of the concerned officer. writ appeal is ordered accordingly. - 551 of 2010 - - - Dated:- 12-7-2011 - D. Murugesan and K.K. Sasidharan, JJ. REPRESENTED BY : Dr. V. Krishna Ananth, Counsel, for the Appellant. S/Shri Vivek Sriram for M/s. G.R. Associates and M.C. Swamy, Special Government Pleader, for the Respondent. [Judgment Per : D. Murugesan, J.]. The writ appeal is directed against the order dated 2-2-2010 dismissing the writ petition filed by the appellant. The facts leading to the present writ appeal are as follows. The appellant made an application dated 12-2-2009 to the Public Information Officer, Public Department, Government of Tamil Nadu seeking permission to inspect the five latest statement of assets disclosure submitted by the ten I.A.S. Officers including the Chief Secretary to Government of Tamil Nadu and the nine Secretaries of the Departments of Finance, Industries, Health and Family Welfare, Agriculture, Public Works Department, Housing and Urban Development, Home, Prohibition and Excise, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj and Revenue. That application was rejected by the Public Information Offi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... h is an essential component of a democratic governance. The right to information is now treated as an invisible integral part of the right of free speech. As information is vital not only for the betterment of the society but also for the betterment of an individual. Article 21 guarantees right to life including the basic right to be informed. 8. India has adopted a democratic form of Government and no democratic Government can survive without accountability and the basic postulate of accountability is that the people should have information about the functioning of the Government. It is only when the people know how the Government is functioning, they can fulfill the role which democracy assigned to them and make democracy a really effective participatory democracy. Right to information is basic to any democracy. A vibrant citizenry is a prerequisite for survival of democratic society and governance. The quality of life in a civilized society depends upon the quality of exchange of information about the governance and related aspects. It is now widely recognised that openness and accessibility of people to information about the government s functioning is a vital component of de ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Court in the decision in State of U.P. v. Raj Narain, AIR 1975 SC 865, interpreted Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India so widely so as to include so many rights within its sweeping shadow. One such right is the right to information. It is observed in the said judgment that the right to know which is derived from the concept of freedom of speech, though not absolute is a factor which should make wary, when secrecy is claimed for transactions which can at any rate have no repercussion on public security. The Apex Court further observed that the people of this country have the right to know every public act, everything that is done in a public way by their public functionaries. They are entitled to know the particulars of every public transaction in its bearing. The concept of an open Government is the direct emanation from the right to know which seems to be implicit in the right of free speech and expression guaranteed under Article 19(1)(a), as observed by the Apex Court in S.P. Gupta v. Union of India, AIR 1982 SC 149. 12. In the Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India v. The Cricket Association of Bengal, (1995) 2 SCC 179, the Apex ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... urt in Bennet Coleman v. Union of India, AIR 1973 SC 60 holding that the right to information was held to be included within the right to freedom of speech and express guarantee under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India. We may also add that a line of judgments of the Apex Court cut across the freedom of privacy pleaded on the ground that such information, the disclosure of which has no relationship to any public activity or interest. In this context, we may also refer to the judgment of the Apex Court in R. Rajagopal alias R.R. Gopal and Another v. State of Tamil Nadu and Others, (1994) 6 SCC 632. 5. Keeping the above object of the Right to Information Act in mind, the issue raised has to be considered. On the one hand it is the contention of the appellant that inasmuch as the assets declaration by the I.A.S. Officers is mandatory in terms of Rule 16 of the All India Services (Conduct) Rules, 1968, the question of placing reliance on Section 8(1)(i) of the Act is erroneous. On the other hand, it is the contention of the Information Commission that the information as to the assets declaration relates to personal information, the disclosure of which has no relationship t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... mong other things, any material in any form, records, documents, etc. That definition includes the information relating to any private body which can be accessed by a public authority under any other law for the time being in force as well. The information relating to any private body which cannot be accessed by a public authority under any other law for the time being in force cannot be termed to be information. By that provision, assets details of the government servants filed before the Government, though in sealed cover, cannot be said to be an information that could not be accessed by the Government. Our attention is not drawn as to any of the rules on this. What is information which relates to personal information is also a matter of debate depending upon the circumstances. In the event a member of public requests information about public servants, a distinction must be made between official information inherent to the position and those that are not which affect only the private life. Apparently, the balancing task to find out as to whether a particular information is a public information or an information relating to public duty is not that much easy. The balancing exerci ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... larger public interest justifies the disclosure of such information, the information sought cannot be denied. The right to information which is recognised as a fundamental right cannot be denied on the ground that it is not accessible by the public authority, particularly no restriction for such accessibility is shown to us in the form of a rule. Hence, the reliance placed by the learned Judge on Section 8(1)(j) to reject the contention of the appellant cannot be accepted. 8. While considering the above, the learned Judge extensively quoted various judgments of the Supreme Court and found that the information sought for by the appellant relates to personal information and the disclosure of which has no relationship to any public activity or interest and ultimately, dismissed the writ petition. Nevertheless, when it was brought to the notice of the learned Judge that the Central Information Commission has passed an order that the assets details of I.A.S. Officers could be disclosed, it has been observed that as the copy of the order was not furnished, the Court was not in a position to go into that aspect. The learned Judge has denied the request of the appellant for the informat ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... officers concerned and they be requested to adhere to the time line indicated in para 3 above. The names of defaulting officers will be put up on the website of DOPT and action indicated in terms of the decision enumerated in para 2 of this letter. 10. Placing reliance on this circular, the learned Special Government Pleader has submitted that as of now, the assets details of the I.A.S. Officers in question are available on the website and therefore there is no impediment for the appellant to access those details and for that reason, the request of the appellant made in his application dated 12-2-2009 requires no consideration. 11. On the other hand, Dr. V. Krishna Ananth, learned counsel for the appellant would submit that after the order in the writ petition, the Central Government has directed the disclosure of the assets details by the I.A.S. Officers. The information hosted in the website has no authenticity, as such information is liable for hacking. The said information has also no evidentiary value. In view of the above change of circumstances, there cannot be any impediment for the Information Commission to allow the appellant to access the information sought for in ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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