Section 8(1)(d) UPSC to declare cut off marks

High Court of Delhi at New-Delhi - LPA

No. 313 of 2007 and CM Appl. No. 6468/2007,

Decided on 03-09-2008 Union Public Service

Commission-- Appellant Vs. Shiv Shambhu

and others Respondents. CORAM : Hon. C.J.

Dr. S. Murlidhar

1. In this case the respondent made an application

to the UPSC seeking information relating to cut

off marks list for optional subjects and general

studies and also details of the marks obtained by

the candidates in the preliminary examination.

The CPIO of the UPSC declined to provide the

information sought on the ground that the said

information forms part of the commissions

crucial secretes and intellectual property under

section 8(1)(d) of the R.T.I.Act.

2. Aggrieved by this order, the petitioner

preferred appeal which was rejected on the same

ground of secrecy and confidentiality of the Civil

Services Examination. Feeling aggrieved by this

order the petitioner preferred writ petition before

the Single Judge of the High Court. After

considering the merits of the arguments of rival

parties, the Single Judge declined to interfere

with the directions given by CIC except the

direction relating to the cut off marks. Those

directions were modified. Not satisfied with the

order of the Single Judge, the petitioner preferred

an appeal before the Division Bench. After

hearing both sides, the Division Bench observed

that a perusal of the documents submitted by the

UPSC, are not of such a nature that can be

characterized as secret , or of a type the disclosure

of which would not be in public interest. As

regards scaling methodology as already been

pointed out by the learned Single Judge, this is no

different from what already stand disclosed by

the UPSC to the Supreme Court in its counter

affidavit filed in SLPand is therefore in the public

domain. As regards the apprehension expressed

by the UPSC that the scaling formulation could

be deciphered first once the cut off marks and

Center for Right to Information, YASHADA

Compilation of the judgments of the Supreme Court of India and various High Courts.

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solution keys in respect of individual subject

disclosed, we fail to understand how if such

information is deciphered in relation to the

examination that has already been conducted,

somehow it would enable the manipulation of the

results of a preliminary examination to be held in

future. The High Court, therefore, did not find any

merit in the appeal and affirmed the impugned

order passed by the learned Single Judge. The

appeal and application were dismissed

accordingly.