Maniram Sharma v. CPIO

Vidhi JainCase Summary

Maniram Sharma v. CPIO
Central Information Commission
File No. CIC/BS/A/2012/001725
Before Mr M.S. Acharyulu, IC, Mr Yashovardhan Azad, IC and Mr Basant Seth, IC
Decided on December 16, 2015

Relevancy of the case: Furnishing all NIC email addresses.

Statutes & Provisions Involved

  • The Information Technology Act, 2000 (Section 3, 43, 43A. 72A)
  • Information Technology (Reasonable Security Practices and Procedures and Sensitive Personal Data or Information) Rules, 2011 (Rule 3, 8)
  • The Right to Information Act, 2005 (Section 2(f), 2(i), 2(j), 3, 4, 8)
  • The Public Records Act, 1993 (Section 4)

Relevant Facts of the Case

  • The appellant in the case is requesting all email addresses details of Government/public authorities/organizations maintained by National Informatics Centre (NIC) with up-to-date amendments therein in a consolidated CD form.
  • Later, the appellant modified the request of seeking the information on a CD and agreed that mere uploading of the requisite information on the Respondent’s website shall suffice his purpose.
  • The respondents have repeatedly voiced their apprehension that such disclosure of information could make the Government internet network vulnerable to cyber-attacks in the form of a humungous amount of unwanted internet communications sent from the fake IP address(es), choking the Government network and blocking access of the NIC servers.

 Prominent Arguments by the Advocates

  • Appellant:

There is no specific past incident to show a security threat to the Government network. NIC agreed that it has generated the information sought. And even if it does not own, if it holds that information that is enough under the Right to Information Act, 2005 to provide information subject to other provisions of the Act.

  • Respondent:

Release of email addresses is likely to be a security threat and can choke the Government’s network. NIC neither generated nor holds the information sought. Their service is limited to providing the domain. NIC simply creates and issues email IDs to various government departments, which as per the Information Technology Act, 2000 are the real owners of those email ids. Section 72 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 requires the permission of concerned departments.

Opinion of the Bench

  • The Government of India has to make sure that the emails and websites of its ministries and departments do not become targets for anti-social elements within and beyond the country and for that it has to depend on the services of the expert national body like NIC.
  • The duty to secure the information is of utmost importance for security and privacy purposes.
  • It is noted that the information as sought by the appellant is already available in the public domain on separate websites of the respective Ministries and/or Departments.
  • Providing the list of all email ids in a CD format could pose a security threat as well as the risk of disruption of essential public services by making the information susceptible to misuse/abuse.
  • The NIC is the premier organization which has to be mandatorily consulted for dealing with any such data of national importance. Not only the security of data but keeping citizen’s private data secure is also important and an essential function of the NIC.
  • But the aspects of national security along with larger public interest and public reach are also required to be adequately addressed.

Final Decision

  • The Central Government is currently working on a project to centralize all Government communications by creating a communication hub on a single platform. The Government of India Web Directory is a one-point source to access all Indian Government Websites at all levels and from all sectors.
  • Such a development, in the larger public interest, augurs well for the cause of transparency and also caters to the demand of the Appellant.
  • As per the appellant’s request, the NIC shall compile the Government of India Web Directory at the earliest in the larger public interest and all public authorities concerned shall expeditiously provide the necessary data to NIC to complete the task.

To read this case summary in Hindi, click here. | इस केस सारांश को हिंदी में पढ़ने के लिए यहाँ क्लिक करें।