New Delhi: The Public Service Commissions are bound to reveal all information except the identity of the test evaluator under the Right to Information Act, the Supreme Court has ruled, in a move that is expected to increase transparency in the selection of government employees.
A Bench of Justices M.Y. Eqbal and Arun Mishra was hearing an appeal by the Kerala Public Service Commission against a 2011 High Court order that required them to make available all information, including the identity of the evaluator. The State Information Commissioner who ordered that the PSC need not keep a secret of evaluated answer sheets and the marks granted in interviews was a party to the case.
The Supreme Court ordered on August 9, 2011 that a person who had appeared for a test had a right to see his evaluated answer sheets. Justices R.V. Raveendran and A.K. Patnaik had ruled that answer sheets come under the definition of “information”, while disposing of the pleas of various examination boards, including the CBSE.
The PSC had rejected a host of applications under the RTI Act but the Information Commission allowed appeals against the move, leading to a legal battle that reached up to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court said the problem of answer sheets was settled in 2011 itself, limiting the scope of the present case to the propriety of revealing the identity of the evaluator and if the PSC came under the purview of the RTI Act. The Supreme Court said information classified under mutual trust has been exempted under the RTI Act.
The court pointed out that revealing the identity of the evaluator could lead to situations where a failed candidate trying to get even with him or new candidates trying to influence him. The PSC and its evaluators worked on the basis of a fiduciary relation, the Bench noted.
Evaluation was a duty bestowed by the PSC. The evaluators believe that the duty will not do them any harm. Information related to this relation need not be made public, the court ruled. The identity of the evaluator in no way benefits the common man. It will only create confusion, the Bench noted.
At the same time, the court said the evaluation of the answer sheets could not be kept a secret because the PSC was not keeping the sheets on the basis of any fiduciary relation, underscoring the fact that the PSC was not exempted from the purview of the RTI Act.
The candidates would be convinced of the fairness of the examination if they get to see the answer sheets, the court noted.
V. Giri and Vipin Nair appeared on behalf of the Kerala PSC while M.R. Ramesh Babu appeared for the Information Commission.
The judgement would require the PSC to hire more people to meet the heavy flow of applications under the RTI Act. Though a person can seek information going back to 20 years, the PSC does not store beyond six months the details of candidates who failed to find a place in the rank list.
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