Info on pvt property with no public interest is deniable: CIC

Information about private properties of third party serving no public interest is "deniable" under the RTI Act, the CIC today said.

The observation came while deciding a plea seeking details of assets belonging to ex-Maharaja of Udaipur.

"If a Member of Parliament would have asked for information about the private properties of the third party (ex-maharaja of Udaipur in this case), the (Home) ministry would have taken the same stand and would have denied information," Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah said.

He said under such circumstances, it appears that the information is, per se, "deniable".

"If it is deniable to the Member of Parliament, there is every reason to believe that its disclosure cannot be held to be in public interest. The claim of exemption is, therefore, held justifiable," he said.

The case relates to an RTI application of one Basanti Lal Singhvi who sought details regarding - Saheliyon-Ki-Bari - which was the private property of erstwhile Maharaja of Udaipur in Rajasthan.

Singhvi said he had purchased land from Maharaja of Udaipur in December 1963. But later a PIL was filed in the court claiming that property sold by ex-Maharaja to Singhvi family is a state government property and Maharaja was not authorised to sell it.