Govt cannot deny info on rule framing, says CIC

The government cannot deny information on framing of rules and its relaxation to an information seeker on the ground that these are Cabinet papers exempt from disclosure under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

Chief Information Commissioner Satyananda Mishra, stating the legal position, rejected the stand taken by chief public information officer (CPIO) on a plea seeking information pertaining to appointment of former CVC P J Thomas.

RTI activist Subhash Chandra Agrawal made queries with the Central government on the appointment of Thomas but the Cabinet Secretariat refused to part with the information saying that they were cabinet papers exempt under the RTI Act.