Canara PDF

MANU/SC/1068/2017
Equivalent Citation: AIR2017SC 4040, 2018(1)ALLMR456, 2017 (125) ALR 891, 2018(1)C DR117(SC ), 2017(5) C HN (SC ) 36,
2017(4)J.L.J.R.188, 2017 (4) KHC 784, 2018-1-LW670, (2017)7MLJ107, 2017(4)PLJR204, 2017(4)RC R(C ivil)292, 2017(4)RLW3203(SC ),
2017(11)SC ALE1, (2018)11SC C 426, 2017 (9) SC J 120
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

Civil Appeal No. 22 of 2009
Decided On: 31.08.2017
Appellants: Canara Bank
Vs.
Respondent: C.S. Shyam and Ors.
Hon'ble Judges/Coram:
R.K. Agrawal and Abhay Manohar Sapre, JJ.
Counsels:
For Appellant/Petitioner/Plaintiff: Naveen R. Nath, Adv.
For Respondents/Defendant: R.C. Kaushik, Adv.
JUDGMENT
Abhay Manohar Sapre, J.
1. This appeal is filed against the final judgment and order dated 20.09.2007 passed
by the High Court of Kerala at Ernakulam in Writ Appeal No. 2100 of 2007 whereby
the High Court disposed of the writ appeal filed by the Appellant herein and upheld
the judgment passed by the Single Judge dismissing the writ petition filed by the
Appellant herein challenging the order of the Central Information Commission holding
that the Appellant must provide the information sought by Respondent No. 1 herein
under the Right to Information Act, 2005 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act").
2. Few relevant facts need mention to appreciate the controversy involved in appeal.
3. The Appellant herein is a nationalized Bank. It has a branch in District Malappuram
in the State of Kerala. Respondent No. 1, at the relevant time, was working in the
said Branch as a clerical staff.
4 . On 01.08.2006, Respondent No. 1 submitted an application to the Public
Information Officer of the Appellant-Bank Under Section 6 of the Act and sought
information regarding transfer and posting of the entire clerical staff from 01.01.2002
to 31.07.2006 in all the branches of the Appellant-Bank.
5 . The information was sought on 15 parameters with regard to various aspects of
transfers of clerical staff and staff of the Bank with regard to individual employees.
This information was in relation to the personal details of individual employee such
as the date of his/her joining, designation, details of promotion earned, date of
his/her joining to the Branch where he/she is posted, the authorities who issued the
transfer orders etc. etc.
6. On 29.08.2006, the Public Information Officer of the Bank expressed his inability
to furnish the details sought by Respondent No. 1 as, in his view, firstly, the
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information sought was protected from being disclosed Under Section 8(1)(j) of the
Act and secondly, it had no nexus with any public interest or activity.
7. Respondent No. 1, felt aggrieved, filed appeal before the Chief Public Information
Officer. By order dated 30.09.2006, the Chief Public Information Officer agreeing with
the view taken by the Public Information Officer dismissed the appeal and affirmed
the order of the Public Information Officer.
8 . Felt aggrieved, Respondent No. 1 carried the matter in further appeal before the
Central Information Commission. By order dated 26.02.2007, the appeal was allowed
and accordingly directions were issued to the Bank to furnish the information sought
by Respondent No. 1 in his application.
9 . Against the said order, the Appellant-Bank filed writ petition before the High
Court. The Single Judge of the High Court dismissed the writ petition filed by the
Appellant-Bank. Challenging the said order, the Appellant-Bank filed writ appeal
before the High Court.
1 0 . By impugned order, the Division Bench of the High Court dismissed the
Appellant's writ appeal and affirmed the order of the Central Information
Commission, which has given rise to filing of this appeal.
11. Having heard the learned Counsel for the Appellant and on perusal of the record
of the case, we are inclined to allow the appeal, set aside the impugned order and
dismiss the application submitted by the 1st Respondent Under Section 6 of the Act.
12. In our considered opinion, the issue involved herein remains no more res integra
and stands settled by two decisions of this Court in Girish Ramchandra
Deshpande v. Central Information Commissioner and Ors.
MANU/SC/0816/2012 : (2013) 1 SCC 212 andR.K. Jain v. Union of India and
Anr. MANU/SC/0384/2013 : (2013) 14 SCC 794, it may not be necessary to re-
examine any legal issue urged in this appeal.
1 3 . I n Girish Ramchandra Deshpande's case (supra), the Petitioner therein
(Girish) had sought some personal information of one employee working in Sub
Regional Office (provident fund) Akola. All the authorities, exercising their respective
powers under the Act, declined the prayer for furnishing the information sought by
the Petitioner. The High Court in writ petition filed by the Petitioner upheld the
orders. Aggrieved by all the order, he filed special leave to appeal in this Court. Their
Lordships dismissed the appeal and upholding the orders passed by the High Court
held as under:
12. We are in agreement with the CIC and the courts below that the
details called for by the Petitioner i.e. copies of all memos issued to
the third Respondent, show-cause notices and orders of
censure/punishment, etc. are qualified to be personal information
as defined in Clause (j) of Section 8(1) of the RTI Act. The
performance of an employee/officer in an organisation is primarily a
matter between the employee and the employer and normally those
aspects are governed by the service Rules which fall under the
expression "personal information", the disclosure of which has no
relationship to any public activity or public interest. On the other
hand, the disclosure of which would cause unwarranted invasion of
privacy of that individual. Of course, in a given case, if the Central

Public Information Officer or the State Public Information Officer or
the appellate authority is satisfied that the larger public interest
justifies the disclosure of such information, appropriate orders could
be passed but the Petitioner cannot claim those details as a matter
of right.
13. The details disclosed by a person in his income tax returns are
"personal information" which stand exempted from disclosure under
Clause (j) of Section 8(1) of the RTI Act, unless involves a larger
public interest and the Central Public Information Officer or the
State Public Information Officer or the appellate authority is
satisfied that the larger public interest justifies the disclosure of
such information.
14. In our considered opinion, the aforementioned principle of law applies to the
facts of this case on all force. It is for the reasons that, firstly, the information sought
by Respondent No. 1 of individual employees working in the Bank was personal in
nature; secondly, it was exempted from being disclosed Under Section 8(j) of the Act
and lastly, neither Respondent No. 1 disclosed any public interest much less larger
public interest involved in seeking such information of the individual employee and
nor any finding was recorded by the Central Information Commission and the High
Court as to the involvement of any larger public interest in supplying such
information to Respondent No. 1.
15. It is for these reasons, we are of the considered view that the application made
by Respondent No. 1 Under Section 6 of the Act was wholly misconceived and was,
therefore, rightly rejected by the Public Information Officer and Chief Public
Information Officer whereas wrongly allowed by the Central Information Commission
and the High Court.
16. In this view of the matter, we allow the appeal, set aside the order of the High
Court and Central Information Commission and restore the orders passed by the
Public Information Officer and the Chief Public Information Officer. As a result, the
application submitted by Respondent No. 1 to the Appellant-Bank dated 01.08.2006
(Annexure-P-1) stands rejected.
© Manupatra Information Solutions Pvt. Ltd.

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MANU/SC/1068/2017

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

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