Public-Interest Override under the RTI Act

The public-interest override allows information to be disclosed under the Right to Information Act, 2005 even when it falls within an exemption. Under Section 8(2), a public authority may allow access when the public interest in disclosure outweighs the harm to the interests protected by the exemption.

Statutory basis of the override

Section 8(1) protects specified interests, including national security, commercial confidence, fiduciary relationships and the investigation of offences. An exemption is therefore the starting point of the assessment, not necessarily its conclusion.

• Section 8(2) operates notwithstanding the Official Secrets Act, 1923 and the exemptions permissible under Section 8(1).
• The statutory wording is that the public authority “may allow access”; it does not require automatic disclosure whenever an applicant invokes public interest.
• Some exemptions also contain their own public-interest qualifications: Sections 8(1)(d) and 8(1)(e) permit disclosure of commercial or fiduciary information where the competent authority is satisfied that larger public interest warrants it.

How the public-interest balance works

The authority must compare the public benefit of disclosure with the harm to the protected interest in the particular case. Merely labelling information confidential, or merely asserting public interest, does not complete this assessment.

• The authority should identify the applicable exemption and explain the interest that withholding the information would protect.
• It should assess how disclosure would serve the public, for example by exposing corruption or enabling scrutiny of the use of public funds.
• The override applies when that public benefit outweighs the relevant harm; it does not abolish the underlying exemption.
• The assessment concerns the public value of disclosure rather than simply the applicant’s private advantage.

Partial disclosure, limits and accountability

Section 10 permits access to a reasonably severable, non-exempt part of a record. Authorities should therefore consider partial disclosure rather than treating an entire document as indivisible.

• The override expressly addresses Section 8(1) exemptions; it should not be read as automatically displacing separate provisions such as Section 9, concerning infringement of copyright belonging to a person other than the State.
• Section 24 separately governs specified intelligence and security organisations, with exceptions for information pertaining to allegations of corruption and human rights violations.
• A rejection must communicate its reasons and appeal particulars under Section 7(8). Under Section 19(5), the public information officer bears the burden of justifying denial in appeal proceedings.