C.RADHAKRISHNAN Vs. PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Petitioner, before this Court, is aggrieved by an order dtd. 17/10/2019, passed by the Respondent no. 3-State Information Commissioner of the Goa State Information Commission, whereby concurrent orders passed by the Public Information Officer and the First Appellate Authority under the provisions of The Right to Information Act, 2005 (for short, 'said Act'), have been set aside and a direction is given to provide information sought by the Respondent no. 4 under the provisions of the said Act.

(2.) According to the Petitioner, the Respondent no. 3 has erred in passing the impugned order, because the direction to give such information is in the teeth of Sec. 8(1)(j) of the aforesaid Act and the position of law clarified by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in that context. The Petitioner contends that the information sought by the Respondent no. 4 falls within the exemption specified in Sec. 8(1)(j) of the said Act, as it relates to personal information, the disclosure of which has no relationship to any public activity or interest.

(3.) The facts leading up to the filing of the present Writ Petition are that Respondent no. 4 had moved an application on 23/1/2010 before the Public Information Officer of V.M. Salgaonkar College of Law. The Respondent no. 4 sought certain details about the admission of the Petitioner to the LLB course and other information related to the said course completed by the Petitioner from the said College. The Respondent no. 1 proceeded on the basis that the information sought pertained to personal information relating to the Petitioner and informed that the Petitioner had raised an objection under Sec. 8(1)(j) of the said Act for grant of such information. On this basis, the application filed by Respondent no. 4 was rejected.