Jabalpur
Madhya Pradesh High Court has said in one of its important decisions that it is mandatory to provide information about the salaries of public servants under the Right to Information Act (RTI). This information cannot be refused on the grounds of confidentiality.
A single bench of Justice Vivek Aggarwal gave this decision in the hearing on a petition filed against the refusal to give information about the salaries of public servants. The High Court has said that the information about the salaries of public servants is of public importance, which cannot be considered confidential.
previously issued order canceled
The Information Commission and the Public Information Officer had also considered this information confidential. In such a situation, the single bench also canceled the earlier order issued by these two. Along with this, instructions were given to the petitioner to provide information within a month.
contrary to the principles of transparency
On behalf of petitioner Chhindwara resident MM Sharma, it was argued that making public the salary information of public servants is mandatory under Section 4 of the Right to Information Act, 2005.
In such a situation, hiding the salary information of public servants by citing Section 8 (1) (j) as personal or third party information is contrary to the objectives of the Act and the principles of transparency.
refused to provide information
Actually, the petitioner had sought information regarding the salary payment of two employees working in Chhindwara Forest Range. The Public Information Officer had refused to provide the information, terming it as private and third party information.
It was argued that their consent was sought from the concerned employees, but if their response was not received, the information could not be made available as it was confidential.
