In a judgment dated December 20, Justice CV Karthikeyan clarified that while service registers may contain some personal information, public authorities cannot withhold all data under the guise of privacy.
The Court observed that public servants operate under public scrutiny and cannot deny citizens access to their service records, which include details such as joining dates, transfers, earned leave, increments, and even assets and liabilities.
“Details such as the date of joining, date of superannuation, and assets and liabilities are certainly not private information. However, if punishments have been imposed due to specific circumstances, those might carry a stigma and could be considered private. Still, public servants, having voluntarily entered public service, must acknowledge that their records are subject to public scrutiny,” the Court stated.
The judgment was delivered in response to a petition by Thamilselvan, who challenged a decision by the Revenue Divisional Officer, Chennai, which rejected his second appeal under the RTI Act. The petitioner had sought details of the assets and liabilities of an assistant engineer in the Water Reservoir Project Sub-Division, Krishnagiri Taluk.
The district collector’s office denied the information, citing Section 8 of the RTI Act, which exempts personal information from disclosure. However, the High Court found this interpretation untenable, stating that such details are not entirely private.
“The refusal, citing Section 8 of the RTI Act as it pertains to personal information, cannot be accepted,” Justice Karthikeyan held.
The Court directed the district collector to re-examine the matter and decide afresh, adhering to RTI Act provisions.
The petitioner was represented by Advocate R Thirumoorthy, while Senior Advocate C Vigneswaran and Government Advocate SJ Mohamed Sathik appeared for the district authorities. Advocate J Ramkumar represented the assistant engineer.
