PSTM Certificates Submitted for Public Recruitment are Public Documents and Not Exempt Personal Information Under RTI Act.

In brief

The question

Whether a PSTM certificate submitted during a recruitment process constitutes "personal information" exempted from disclosure under Section 8(1)(j) of the Right to Information Act, 2005

The court held

The Court answered the issues in the negative, holding that PSTM certificates used for recruitment are not protected documents under Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act

It also directed

The Court affirmed the Writ Court’s order and dismissed the Writ Appeal, finding no legal impediment to providing the requested information to the 2nd Respondent

The connected miscellaneous petition was closed, and no costs were awarded

01Facts

The 2nd Respondent (information seeker) filed an RTI application seeking details of persons who obtained Person Studied in Tamil Medium (PSTM) certificates

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The Public Information Officer (PIO) of the Teachers Recruitment Board initially rejected the request.

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On appeal, the State Information Commission, vide order dated 26.11.2021, directed the PIO to provide copies of the PSTM certificates, ruling they are public documents not protected under the RTI Act

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The appellant/PIO challenged this order via a writ petition, which was dismissed on 05.09.2022

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The appellant then preferred this intra-court appeal under Clause 15 of the Letters Patent

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02Issues

i.Whether a PSTM certificate submitted during a recruitment process constitutes "personal information" exempted from disclosure under Section 8(1)(j) of the Right to Information Act, 2005

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ii.Whether the disclosure of certificates used for public recruitment involves a public activity or interest that overrides privacy concerns

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03Law Applied

The court applied Section 8(1)(j) of the Right to Information Act, 2005, which exempts personal information that has no relationship to any public activity or interest, or which would cause an unwarranted invasion of privacy, unless a larger public interest justifies disclosure

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It further applied the principle that documents submitted to a public authority for the purpose of obtaining a public benefit or employment transition into the category of "public documents"

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Provisions in the judgment · 1 · Linked ones open on LawLens

Right to Information Act, 2005 Section 8

04Reasoning

The Court rejected the appellant's contention that PSTM certificates are private documents protected by Section 8(1)(j)

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The bench reasoned that once a certificate—holding that a person studied in Tamil medium—is submitted as part of a recruitment process to claim a specific quota (PSTM quota), it loses its character as private information and relates to a "public activity"

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Under the plain reading of Section 8(1)(j), information relating to public activity is not protected

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Therefore, since the certificates were used for the purpose of selection in a public recruitment process, they are not exempt from disclosure

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Furthermore, information regarding the correctness of such certificates does not fall under the definition of personal information

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05Holding

The Court answered the issues in the negative, holding that PSTM certificates used for recruitment are not protected documents under Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act

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The Court affirmed the Writ Court’s order and dismissed the Writ Appeal, finding no legal impediment to providing the requested information to the 2nd Respondent

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The connected miscellaneous petition was closed, and no costs were awarded

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LawLens.Madras High Court

Original Court PDF