Exemption from disclosure of information
Commencement. Ss. 4(1), 5(1) (2), 12, 13, 15, 16, 24, 27, 28 (15-06-2005) and rest provisions on 120th day of its enactment.
Section 8 of the Right to Information Act, 2005 deals with exemption from disclosure of information. Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen,-- (a) information, disclosure of which would prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security, strategic, scientific or economic interests of the State, relation with foreign St The Act was enacted on 15 Jun 2005.
(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen,--
(a) information, disclosure of which would prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security, strategic, scientific or economic interests of the State, relation with foreign State or lead to incitement of an offence;
(b) information which has been expressly forbidden to be published by any court of law or tribunal or the disclosure of which may constitute contempt of court;
(c) information, the disclosure of which would cause a breach of privilege of Parliament or the State Legislature;
(d) information including commercial confidence, trade secrets or intellectual property, the disclosure of which would harm the competitive position of a third party, unless the competent authority is satisfied that larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information;
(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;
(f) information received in confidence from foreign Government;
(g) information, the disclosure of which would endanger the life or physical safety of any person or identify the source of information or assistance given in confidence for law enforcement or security purposes;
(h) information which would impede the process of investigation or apprehension or prosecution of offenders;
(i) cabinet papers including records of deliberations of the Council of Ministers, Secretaries and other officers:
Provided that the decisions of Council of Ministers, the reasons thereof, and the material on the basis of which the decisions were taken shall be made public after the decision has been taken, and the matter is complete, or over:
Provided further that those matters which come under the exemptions specified in this section shall not be disclosed;
(j) information which relates to personal information the disclosure of which has no relationship to any public activity or interest, or which would cause unwarranted invasion of the privacy of the individual unless the Central Public Information Officer or the State Public Information Officer or the appellate authority, as the case may be, is satisfied that the larger public interest justifies the disclosure of such information:
Provided that the information which cannot be denied to the Parliament or a State Legislature shall not be denied to any person.
(2) Notwithstanding anything in the Official Secrets Act, 1923 (19 of 1923) nor any of the exemptions permissible in accordance with sub-section (1), a public authority may allow access to information, if public interest in disclosure outweighs the harm to the protected interests.
(3) Subject to the provisions of clauses (a), (c) and (i) of sub-section (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:
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.
Section 8, The Right to Information Act, 2005 (Act 22 of 2005).
Cross-references
Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.
This section refers to
Related judgements & precedents
These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.
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CPIO, Supreme Court of India v. Subhash Chandra Agarwal
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Office of the Chief Justice of India is a public authority. Collegium correspondence and judges personal-asset information are accessible subject to s.8 privacy balancing. Constitution Bench.
On this section: s.8(1)(j) privacy exemption is applied with a public-interest override for judicial-office information.
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Girish Ramchandra Deshpande v. Central Information Commissioner
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Service records, assets, memos and similar personal information of a public servant are exempt under s.8(1)(j) unless a larger public interest is shown. Privacy of the employee is not automatically waived by public employment.
On this section: s.8(1)(j) covers personnel/asset details of public servants absent a larger public-interest override.
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Central Board of Secondary Education v. Aditya Bandopadhyay
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Evaluated answer-books are information held by a public authority. s.8 exemptions are construed strictly; examinees have a right to inspect their own evaluated scripts subject to limited fiduciary/copyright caveats.
On this section: s.8 exemptions do not create a blanket bar on disclosing a candidate's own evaluated script.
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Inst. of Chartered Accountants of India vs Shaunak H Sayta
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Intellectual property exemption under Section 8(1)(d) of RTI Act is temporal in nature and applies only to information the disclosure of which would competitively harm third parties at the time of disclosure. Once an examination is held, evaluated, and results declared, examination instructions, solutions, and model answers no longer harm the competitive position of any third party and therefore cease to be exempted. Information held by a person in fiduciary capacity is exempted under Section 8(1)(e), but this exemption is conditional and subject to larger public interest override. Examining bodies must disclose standards and criteria for mark moderation to maintain accountability and fairness, but need not compile data not maintained in their records. Administrative workload and burden do not justify denial of RTI requests; public authorities must adapt to transparency obligations.
On this section: Exemption for information which contains intellectual property and disclosure would harm competitive position of third parties - Court held this is conditional exemption with temporal limitation
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Malappuram District Co. Op. Bank LTD vs State Information Commission
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Cooperative societies registered under state cooperative societies acts are not public authorities under Section 2(h) of the Right to Information Act, 2005, unless they satisfy one of the statutory tests: (a) are established or constituted by Constitution, Parliament law, State Legislature law, or executive notification; or (b) are owned by the appropriate government; or (c) are controlled by the appropriate government with substantial control (not mere supervisory/regulatory control) over management and affairs; or (d) are substantially financed, directly or indirectly, by funds provided by the appropriate government (meaning actual, existing, positive and real financing to substantial extent where body practically runs by such funding). The determination of whether a particular cooperative society meets these tests is a question of fact to be examined by the State Information Commission or Central Information Commission when disputed, on evidence. The burden of proof lies on the applicant seeking information or the government to demonstrate that a society satisfies one of these tests.
On this section: Exemption for personal information - information having no relationship to public activity/interest or causing unwarranted invasion of privacy need not be disclosed unless larger public interest justifies disclosure; significant safeguard for privacy rights of individuals
The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.
Judgments citing this section
These may be obiter dicta or a precedent, for you to study. These are the judgments where this section is quoted.
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… The Act is meant to harmonise the conflicting interests of Government to preserve the confidentiality of sensitive information with the right of citizens to know the functioning of the governmental process in such a way as to preserve the paramountcy of the democratic ideal." 9. Section 8(2) of the Right to Information Act (already extracted) contemplates that notwithstanding anything in the Official Secrets Act and the exemptions permissible under subsection (1) of Section 8, a public authority would be justified in allowing access to information, if on proper balancing, public interest in …
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… The Act is meant to harmonise the conflicting interests of Government to preserve the confidentiality of sensitive information with the right of citizens to know the functioning of the governmental process in such a way as to preserve the paramountcy of the democratic ideal." 9. Section 8(2) of the Right to Information Act (already extracted) contemplates that notwithstanding anything in the Official Secrets Act and the exemptions permissible under subsection (1) of Section 8, a public authority would be justified in allowing access to information, if on proper balancing, public interest in …
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… cannot be furnished to avoid any erosion in the credibility of the decisions and to ensure a free and frank expression of honest opinion by all the constitutional functionaries, which is essential for effective consultation and for taking the right decision? 3. Whether the information sought for is exempt under Section 8(1)(j) of the Right to Information Act?" 9. We have heard Mr. K.K. Venugopal, Attorney General of India, Mr. Tushar Mehta, Solicitor General of India on behalf of the Supreme Court of India and Mr. Prashant Bhushan , learned advocate for Subhash Chandra Agarwal. The appellants have contended that disclosure of …
Questions about Section 8
What have the courts held on Section 8 of the Right to Information Act?
CPIO, Supreme Court of India v. Subhash Chandra Agarwal (13 Nov 2019) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: s.8(1)(j) privacy exemption is applied with a public-interest override for judicial-office information. Another 4 judgments on this section are set out below, all of them from the Supreme Court. They run from 2011 to 2019.
How do I find court cases under Section 8 of the Right to Information Act?
In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: RTI Act 8, section 8 RTI Act, section 8 of the Right to Information Act. People searching for it also type rti 8 1 j in hindi and rti 8 1 h. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 5 reported judgments on this section are set out on this page, beginning with CPIO, Supreme Court of India v. Subhash Chandra Agarwal (13 Nov 2019).
What should I read with Section 8 of the Right to Information Act, and has it changed?
Its own text turns on section 6 (Request for obtaining information), so none of them can safely be read on its own. 6 other provisions in this corpus refer back to it.
When was Section 8 of the Right to Information Act enacted?
Section 8 of the Right to Information Act, commonly called rti exemption, and cited as RTI Act 8, was enacted on 15 Jun 2005 as Act 22 of 2005. It is in force as at the date shown on this page.
Other sections of this Act
- 19. Appeal669 words
- 7. Disposal of request657 words
- 4. Obligations of public authorities643 words
- 2. Definitions618 words
- 13. Terms of office and conditions of service530 words
- 18. Powers and functions of Information Commissions473 words
Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Text as in force on 15 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.