Bengaluru: The Right to Information (RTI) Act cannot be employed as a mechanism for obtaining personal information merely for advancing a private claim, the Karnataka high court has ruled.Justice Suraj Govindaraj made the observation in a recent judgment while dismissing a petition filed by Bengaluru resident S Savithramma.She moved the Karnataka Information Commission (KIC) for details of the assets and liabilities of SP Jayapal, who worked as the deputy controller at the central KSRTC office during 1990-2002, saying he fraudulently obtained a sale deed from her, and she required the documents for pending civil suits.On May 6, 2025, KIC rejected her application, citing that the information sought by her fell under personal information and could not be disclosed as it was exempted under the RTI Act.Challenging the order, Savithramma approached the high court, arguing that Jayapal is a public servant and, therefore, any immovable property acquired by him, together with the corresponding disclosure of assets and liabilities, should be revealed.Justice Govindaraj, however, rejected the argument.“The right to privacy is now recognised as a constitutionally protected right. Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act represents a statutory manifestation of that protection in the context of access to information. Therefore, before directing disclosure of personal information, the authority concerned must be satisfied that the public interest sought to be served is of such magnitude as to outweigh the privacy interests of the individual concerned. No such circumstances have been demonstrated in the present case,” the judge noted.“Mere allegations, however serious, cannot by themselves convert personal information into public information,” the judge added.
