Preparatory info of Cabinet documents under RTI ambit: CIC

The transparency law under section 8(1)(i) exempts from disclosure cabinet papers including records of deliberations of the Council of Ministers, Secretaries and other officers till the decision has been taken.

"Exemption under Section 8(1)(i) will apply only when a Note is submitted by the Ministry that has formulated it to the Cabinet Secretariat for placing this before the Cabinet. All concomitant information preceding that, which does not constitute a part of that Cabinet Note, will then be open to disclosure," the Bench said.

The records which went into preparation of a cabinet note "but is not a part of it" have to be provided to an RTI applicant as per the provisions of the law, the Bench said.
"A note that is withdrawn would therefore not constitute a Cabinet Note and would consequently qualify for disclosure," the Bench comprising Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah and Information Commissioners Satyananda Mishra and Deepak Sandhu held.

The case relates to Human Rights activist Venkatesh Nayak who sought from the Department of Personnel and Training a copy of the draft Public Interest Disclosure and Protection of Informers' (PIDPI) Bill approved by the Cabinet.

"The key issue for decision here, therefore, would appear to us to distinguish what constitutes the stage of 'formulation', when disclosure of draft legislation leading to policy is mandatory, as against the stage of 'finalisation', when it will constitute a document exempt from disclosure," it said.

The Bench said once a draft is submitted to the Cabinet Secretariat, with all its necessary attachments for submission to the Cabinet, it would remain exempt from disclosure till such time as the decision has been taken and action to be taken thereon is "complete and over".

In Nayak's case, the Bench said, this is a request for information after the draft Bill has been put in motion for submission to Parliament."At that stage the disclosure would be in violation not only of Section 8(1)(i) but also of Section 8(1)(c)," it said while rejecting the request for the disclosure.Section 8(1)(c) deals with documents disclosure of which will violate Parliamentary privilege