This is a very old decision. Subsequently the
CIC in a full bench decision dated 23.04.2007, has clarified the ambit of Sec 8(1)(j) nicely as follows: "This Section has to be read as a whole. If that were done, it would be apparent that that “personal information” does not mean information relating to the information seeker, but about a third party. That is why, in the Section, it is stated “unwarranted invasion of the privacy of the individual”. If one were to seek information about himself or his own case, the question of invasion of
privacy of his own self does not arise. If one were to ask information about a third
party and if it were to invade the privacy of the individual, the information
seeker can be denied the information on the ground that disclosure would
invade the privacy of a third party. Therefore, when a citizen seeks information
about his own case and as long as the information sought is not exempt in terms
of other provisions of Section 8 of
RTI Act, this Section cannot be applied to
deny the information."