Section 11 of RTI Act : Section 11: Third Party Information

Explanation using Example

Imagine that Alice, a citizen, files a request under the Right to Information Act to obtain details about a contract between a government department and a private construction company, XYZ Corp, which is executing a public infrastructure project. The contract includes financial details that XYZ Corp has marked as confidential.

The State Public Information Officer (SPIO) handling Alice's request determines that the contract information is subject to Section 11 of the RTI Act because it was supplied by a third party, XYZ Corp, and treated as confidential. Following the Act, the SPIO sends a written notice to XYZ Corp within five days of receiving Alice's request, informing them of the intent to disclose the contract details and inviting them to make a written or oral submission about whether the information should be disclosed.

XYZ Corp is concerned that releasing the financial details could harm their competitive position, so they respond within the ten-day window provided, arguing against the disclosure and highlighting the potential harm.

Considering the submissions from XYZ Corp, the SPIO must decide whether the public interest in disclosing the contract details outweighs the potential harm to XYZ Corp. After deliberation, and within the forty-day decision period, the SPIO decides that the public interest in understanding how public funds are being used takes precedence and notifies XYZ Corp of the decision to disclose the information, also informing them of their right to appeal under section 19 of the Act.