Right to Information Act

Yes. Refer to Section 8 (3) of the RTI Act. It will be pertinent in this context to quote directly the provisions of Section 8(3) of the RTI Act, which reads as under: “8(3). Subject to the provisions of clauses (a), (c) and (i) of subsection (1), any information relating to any occurrence, event or matter which has taken place, occurred or happened twenty years before the date on which any request is made under section 6 shall be provided to any person making a request under that section:1 Provided that where any question arises as to the date from which the said period of twenty years has to be computed, the decision of the Central Government shall be final, subject to the usual appeals provided for in this Act.” 17. A plain reading of sub-section 3 makes it clear that a public authority is obliged to provide information which is more than 20 years old. This is an obligation subject only to the provisions of clauses (a), (c) and (i) of Section 8(1) of the RTI Act. This clearly means that information which is more than 20 years old and only if it is covered by clauses (a), (c) and (i) of sub-section (1) of Section 8, the public authority may decline to furnish the information. But in all other cases, even though they may fall within the ambit of Section 8(1), the disclosure by the Public Authority is mandatory.

THE INFORMATION PROVIDED FROM PUBLIC RECORDS UNDER THE RTI ACT CONTAINS REFERENCES TO MALPRACTICES OF THIRD PARTIES AND EVEN SOME LEGAL PROFESSIONALS. WHETHER SUCH INFORMATION WHEN PUBLISHED IN NEWSPAPERS AMOUNTS TO DEFAMATION. KINDLY GIVE YOUR VALUABLE OPINION