Can't Disclose Answer Sheets Of Judicial Service Exam Under RTI : Supreme Court Rejects Plea

The matter came up for hearing before a Bench comprising the Chief Justice of India, D.Y. Chandrachud, Justice V. Ramasubramanian and Justice J.B. Pardiwala.

The CJI indicated that the proportion forwarded by the petitioner was ‘extremely dangerous’ and prone to misuse.

“These coaching classes fellows will get hold of the answer sheets…,” said the CJI.

The Counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner submitted that if the answer scripts are disclosed then it would help the future aspirants.

Refusing to accept her argument, the CJI noted that the disclosure sought in the plea is squarely covered by the bar under Section 8 of the Right to Information Act, as the answer sheets are held in exercise of fiduciary relationship between the concerned authorities and the candidates.

In a lighter vein, Justice Ramasubramanian reckoned that if a few selected answer sheets are made available to the petitioner, after reading the content they might implore the Court not to disclose them.

“If you want to read the answer sheets of some of them, then we will select and give you some answer papers, then you will come up with a prayer not to give it. You think it’s a boon, it is not.”

Before the High Court, the petitioner contended that for achieving the ultimate goal of transparency in the process of selection and appointment to the post of Civil Judge (Entry Level) and District Judge (Entry Level) in the State, the answer copies written by all the candidates be ought to be made available on website of the Court. It further sought for directions of the Court to declare the relevant provisions of the notification for the said exam as null and void which restricted the supply of answer copies to only the candidate concerned who applied for the same. The petitioner submitted before the Court that making available the answer copies of all the candidates who appeared in the said examination on the website of the Court would not offend the exemption clause under Section 8 of the RTI Act. It was further argued that the same would not only enhance transparency but would also be academically enriching for prospective candidates who may appear in the subsequent examinations to be held in future.

While dismissing the plea, the High Court had categorically observed -

• The contents of an answer sheet written by a particular candidate contains information privy and personal to the said candidate and, therefore, any disclosure of the same to the public at large can be permitted only when the candidate concerned has no objection.
• The disclosure of contents of an answer sheet of a candidate in public domain will invite number of complications which include intrusion into the privacy of the candidate concerned, the examining body being compelled to indulge in innumerable applications thereby opening pandora's box which may be difficult to control and manage, etc.
• That disclosure of answer sheets in public domain is susceptible to the danger of coaching institutes collecting copies from candidates (after perhaps encouraging/inducing the candidate to apply for answer copies under the RTI).
• That answer copy contains information personal to the candidate which cannot be disclosed without consent of the candidate concerned or the public interest outweighs the personal interest, which is not the case herein.

[Case Title: Advocate Union for Democracy & Social Justice v. HC of MP SLP(C) No. 1034/2023]