UPSC exam marks of home secy, ex-fin secy can't be disclosed: CIC

The marks obtained by Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi, former Finance Secretary Arvind Mayaram and four other senior 1978-batch IAS officers in the UPSC examination cannot be disclosed as the information is more than 20-years-old, the CIC has held.
An RTI applicant had sought to know the marks obtained by the Home Secretary and former Union Finance Secretary and Rajasthan government officials, including Chief Secretary CS Rajan, Additional Secretary Umrao Salodiya and former Additional Secretaries Vijay Shanker Singh and Ram Lubhaya.
Applicant OP Mehta had sought copies of the marks obtained by the last candidate, in order of merit, belonging to 'General' category, recommended by the UPSC for appointment to the IAS/IFS on the basis of the result of the examination held in 1977.

"The appellant (Mehta) submitted that the respondent has denied information to him on the grounds that the information sought is more than 36-years-old and search/culling out such information would disproportionately divert the scarce resources of the public authority," Information Commissioner Sudhir Bhargava noted in his order.
Mehta had contended that the justification by the UPSC was not justified.
The Commission said that since the information sought is more than 20-years-old, it is exempted from disclosure under Section 8(3) of RTI Act.

The section cited to withhold information is applied to disclose information in three conditions -- security of the state, breach of privilege of Parliament or state legislatures and Cabinet papers, including records of deliberations of the Council of Ministers, Secretaries and other officers.

"Subject to the provisions of clauses (a),(c) and (i) of sub-section (1), any information relating to any occurrence, event or matter which has taken place, occurred or happened twenty years before the date on which any request is made under Section 6 shall be provided to any person making a request under that section:
"Provided that where any question arises as to the date from which the said period of twenty years has to be computed, the decision of the Central Government shall be final, subject to the usual appeals provided for in this Act.