The Delhi High Court has ruled that details related to passports and personal identification documents cannot be disclosed to a third party under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005.

The case involved a petition which challenged a decision by the Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) regarding his RTI request. He had sought information about the issuance of a passport and travel documents to a third party.

The Court referred to several previous rulings on this issue and emphasized that any disclosure request about such personal information falls under the ambit of Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act it added, “…disclosures which may be sought by a third party under the provisions of RTI act pertaining to passport or any other personal identification document, squarely falls under the ambit of Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act.”

A Bench of Justice Sachin Datta held, “It is quite apparent that the information sought by the petitioner RTI squarely falls within the ambit of Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act, and the dicta laid down in the aforesaid judgments, squarely applies in respect thereof. This is quite apart from the fact that in any event, the requisite information is not available on account of non- availability/destruction of records for the concerned period.”

The Court observed that the information sought was prohibited from being disclosed under Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act, which protects personal privacy. He concluded that the requested details clearly fell within the scope of this provision, referencing relevant legal precedents. Furthermore, since the records from the concerned period were no longer available due to their destruction, the court ruled that there was no further obligation to provide the requested information.

The Court dismissed the plea, stating that if he had any remaining doubts or queries regarding the matter, he could pursue appropriate legal avenues available to him.

Cause Title: Rakesh Kumar v. Central Public Information Officer & Anr., [2025:DHC:618]

Appearance:

Petitioner: Advocates Puneet Sharma, Ashwani Kumar

Respondents: Advocates Rahul Sharma, Mani Kant

Click here to read/download Order


Delhi High CourtJustice Sachin Datta

Suchita Shukla

Assistant Editor

Suchita Shukla is an Assistant Editor at Verdictum, with a strong foundation in legal research and writing, she brings over 4.5 years of experience to the table, having honed her skills in the dynamic field of law. She covers Supreme Court and High Courts. She completed her BA-LLB (Hons.) 5-year course with specialisation in Intellectual Property rights from Galgotias University. Since 2019, apart from having worked at a legal publishing house she has also ventured into legal journalism.