[Satish Gupta]

RTI: Exemption 8(1)(e) reads as follows:>
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"(e) information available to a person in his fiduciary relationship, unless the competent authority is satisfied that the larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information;">

Black's Law Dictionary defines "fiduciary relationship" as "A very broad term embracing both technical fiduciary relations and those informal relations which exist wherever one person trusts in or relies on another." Examples of fiduciary relations are those existing between attorney and client, guardian and ward, principal and agent, trustee and beneficiaries of trust, and executor and heir.

This exemption is going to cause a lot of problems, since CIC or SIC can interpret it in any which way. True fiduciary relationships are very rare in a government setting. You can see such relationship if a third person wants medical reports written by a government doctor on a patient. However government can argue that any relationship where one party expects confidentiality, can be a fiduciary relationship.

One such case is being litigated in Kerala High Court. The CIC ruled that the relationship between government and the examiners, it hired, (to grade answer sheets) have a fiduciary relationship! If this argument is upheld by court, then any government contractor can claim such relationship. The case is Treesha Irish vs, CIC.

Good luck