Appeal Dismissed: RTI Request for Company Info Denied, Public Domain Access Upheld

The appeal against the rejection of an RTI request for information about a company's status, directors, and pending cases was dismissed. The court upheld the decision that the information was already in the public domain and access was available for a predetermined fee. It was ruled that public authorities have the right to determine the price for voluntarily disclosed information, and pricing access differently from rates under the RTI Act is within their discretion. The appellant's argument that denial of information was illegal under the RTI Act was rejected, affirming the requirement for payment to access the requested information.

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Issues involved: Appeal against the rejection of RTI request for information about a company's status, directors, and pending cases.

Summary:
1. The appellant's RTI request for information about a company's status, directors, and pending cases was rejected by the Appellate Authority (AA) on the grounds that the information was already in the public domain and access was available for a predetermined fee.

2. The appellant contended that he did not ask for documents but only for information, and argued that denial of information was illegal under Section 22 of the RTI Act, stating that the Companies Act referenced by the respondents was not relevant to public access to information.

3. The respondents informed that they were willing to allow inspection of the records and documents related to the appellant's request, citing a Ministry of Company Affairs circular and stating that there were no pending cases against the company in question.

4. The respondents argued that once information is made available in the public domain for a fee, it is not considered to be under the control of the public authority as per Section 2(j) of the RTI Act, and therefore, access to such information falls outside the purview of the Act.

5. The judgment emphasized that the RTI Act obliges public authorities to disseminate information voluntarily to minimize the need for using the Act to obtain information, and public authorities have the right to determine the price for accessing voluntarily disclosed information.

6. It was held that the pricing of access to information by the public authority, different from the rates prescribed under the RTI Act, does not amount to inconsistency and is within the authority's discretion. The appeal was rejected, affirming the decision of the CPIO and the AA to require payment for accessing the requested information.

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