CIC upholds PMO decision not to divulge details of Modi’s Aadhaar, Voter ID

NEW DELHI: CIC has upheld the decision of the Prime Minister's Office that Aadhaar and voter ID details of Prime Minister Narendra Modi cannot be disclosed as they have personal information.
The decision comes on an RTI application filed by Soni S Eramath, who had demanded to know whether the President of India has administered the oath of office to the Prime Minister of India in the name of "Mr Narendra Modi". The applicant had also demanded information about the Aadhaar card and Voter ID of the Prime Minister.

The PMO said that the oath was administered to the Prime Minister as per the provisions of the Constitution. "Further, he (central public information officer of the PMO) stated that the information relating to Aadhaar card/Voter I.D. of the Prime Minister cannot be revealed to the appellant as per the exemption available under Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act, 2005," the order by chief information commissioner R K Mathur stated.

The section exempts disclosure of information which relates to personal information, the disclosure of which has no relationship to any public activity or interest, or which would cause unwarranted invasion of the privacy of the individual.

According to the section, the records can be disclosed if the official handling the application or an appellate authority is satisfied that the larger public interest justifies the disclosure of such information.

The information which cannot be denied to Parliament or a state legislature shall not be denied to any person, the sections says.

Mathur said the action and steps taken by the respondent in giving response to the RTI application is satisfactory. "No further intervention of the Commission is required in the matter," Mathur directed.