The Delhi High Court has ruled that the enquiry report of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) regarding investigations in a case is exempt from disclosure under Section 8(1)(h) of the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
High Court made this observation while dismissing a plea by a former officer of the Indian Audit & Accounts Service against whom a show-cause notice was issued by the CBI during an investigation into alleged irregularities in the National Spot Exchange Limited.
The petitioner had filed an RTI application seeking a copy of the CBI's enquiry report along with copies of notations recorded at various levels, an action taken report, copies of noted correspondence, and final orders passed by the Minister of Finance on the action proposed by the CBI. The CPIO of the Ministry of Finance denied the information on the grounds that it was exempted under Section 8(1)(h) of the RTI Act. The Central Information Commission (CIC) upheld this decision.
The Delhi High Court upheld the CIC's order, stating that providing the information sought by the petitioner would impede the CBI's investigation into a large-scale fraud. The court noted that Section 8(1)(h) of the RTI Act specifically exempts information that would impede the process of investigation. The court also observed that the CBI was an organization exempt from the RTI Act under Section 24.
The petitioner had sought the information to defend himself against a show-cause notice issued by the CBI in connection with the alleged irregularities in the National Spot Exchange Limited. However, the court held that the CBI's report was not relevant to answering the issues raised in the show-cause notice.
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