Cooperative Society Cannot Deny RTI Information To Member As 'Personal' If Registrar Can Access Such Records
- Case
- Cooperative Society Cannot Deny RTI Information To Member As 'Personal' If Registrar Can Access Such Records : Supreme Court
- Statutes
- Right to Information Act, 2005 — s.8(1)(j)
- Source
- LiveLaw
The Supreme Court held that a cooperative society cannot deny information to a member under the Right to Information Act, 2005, by claiming it is 'personal' if the Registrar of Cooperative Societies has access to such records. This ruling clarifies the scope of 'personal information' under Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act.
Ratio Decidendi · Legal Principle Established
Information held by a cooperative society cannot be classified as 'personal information' under Section 8(1)(j) of the Right to Information Act, 2005, if such information is accessible by the Registrar of Cooperative Societies under statutory provisions.
Practice & Procedural Impact for Advocates
Advocates representing members of cooperative societies can argue for disclosure of records if the Registrar has access to them, overcoming 'personal information' objections. Litigants seeking information from cooperative societies should ascertain if the Registrar has statutory access to the desired records.
Key Legal Takeaways
- 1Cooperative societies cannot use Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act to deny information if the Registrar can access it.
- 2The accessibility of records by the Registrar negates the 'personal information' exemption for cooperative societies.
- 3Members of cooperative societies have a right to information that is statutorily accessible to the Registrar.
The Legal Issue
The core legal issue before the Supreme Court was whether a cooperative society could deny information sought by one of its members under the Right to Information Act, 2005 (RTI Act), on the ground that such information constituted 'personal information' exempted from disclosure under Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act. The specific context involved records that were also accessible by the Registrar of Cooperative Societies under relevant statutory provisions.
Court's Reasoning
The Supreme Court reasoned that if the Registrar of Cooperative Societies, a public authority, has statutory access to the records of a cooperative society, then such records cannot be deemed 'personal information' within the meaning of Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act. The Court implied that the very fact of statutory oversight and access by the Registrar means the information is not exclusively private to individuals within the society in a manner that would warrant exemption from disclosure to a member. The Court's interpretation limits the scope of the 'personal information' exemption when a regulatory body already has access to the data.
What Follows
This ruling means that cooperative societies, when faced with an RTI request from a member, cannot automatically deny information by citing the 'personal information' exemption under Section 8(1)(j) if the Registrar of Cooperative Societies has the power to access those records. The cooperative society will now be obligated to provide such information to its members, subject to other applicable exemptions under the RTI Act. This decision enhances transparency and accountability within cooperative societies, particularly concerning information that falls under the purview of regulatory oversight.