RTI QUERY ACT

The Supreme Court in its judgment (Civil Appeal No. 490 of 2002.)passed in the case of Peoples Union of Civil Liberties v Union of India has ruled that: “When there is a competition between the right to privacy of an individual and the right to information of the citizens, the former right has to be subordinated to the latter right as it serves larger public interest. That is why if anyone wants to contest election, his assets and liabilities though it is related to  Privacy of the candidates, it is published on public interest.  This is not an assertion of the supremacy of the right to information. Hence both these rights are pari passu. This judgement intertwines public interest with right to information and hence to avoid any predicament it is pertinent to note that the judgement is upholding the nature of “Public Interest” and not the supremacy of Right to Privacy. The right to information opens doors to larger public interest and the court through its judgement acknowledges the same. Hence, the CPIO's decision in terms or denial or disclosure solely depends on the nature of query balancing between the ingredients of Public Interest and Individual privacy.  If the query is elaborated as to the nature of information sought related to the applicant's privacy, more analytical inputs could be drawn,