THE INSTITUTE OF CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS OF INDIA versus SHAUNAK H.SATYA & ORS.

Citation: [2011] 14 S.C.R. 328 · Decided: 02-09-2011 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: R.V. RAVEENDRAN · Disposal: Case Partly allowed

Cited by 2 judgment(s) · see the full citation network in Lexace

Judgment (excerpt)

[2011] 14 (ADDL.) S.C.R. 328 
A 
THE INSTITUTE OF CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS OF 
INDIA 
v. 
SHAUNAK H.SATYA & ORS. 
(Civil Appeal No. 7571 of 2011) 
B 
SEPTEMBER 2, 2011 
[R.V. RAVEENDRAN AND. A. K. PATNAIK, JJ.] 
Right to Information Act, 2005 - s.8(1)(d) - Examination 
c of candidates for enrolment as Chartered Accountants -
Examination held by appellant-lnsf;tute of Chartered 
Accountants of India (/CAI) - Whether the instructions and 
solutions to questions (if any) given by /CAI to examiners and 
moderators, are intellectual property of the /CAI, disclosure 
D of which would harm the competitive position of third parties 
and therefore exempted under s. 8(1 )(d) of the RT/ Act - Held: 
The question papers, solutions to questions and instructions 
are the intellectual properties of /CAI - However, what is 
exempted from disclosure at one point of time may cease to 
E 
be exempted at a later point of time, depending upon the 
nature of exemption - The appellant examining body is not 
liable to give to any citizen any information relating to 
question papers. solutions/model answers and instructions 
relating to a particular examination before the date of such 
F examination - But the position will be different once the 
examination is held - Disclosure of the question papers, 
model answers and instructions in regard to any particular 
examination, would not harm the competitive position of any 
third party once the examination is held - In fact the question 
papers are disclosed to everyone at the time of examination 
G -
The appellant voluntarily publishes the ·suggested 
answers" in regard to the question papers in the form of a book 
for sale every year, after the examination - Therefore s.8(1)(d) 
of the RT/ Act does not bar or prohibit the disclosure of 
H 
328 
INSTITUTE OF CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS OF 
329 
1NDIA v. SHAUNAK H.SATYA 
question papers. model answers (solutions to questions) and A 
instructions if any given to the examiners and moderators · 
after the examination and after the evaluation of answerscripts 
is completed. as at that stage they will not harm the 
competitive position of any third party. 
B 
Right tb Information Act, 2005 - s.9 - Examination of 
candidates for enrolment as Chartered Accountants -
Examination held by appellant-Institute of Chartered 
Accountants of India (/CAI) - Whether providing access to t!Je 
information sought (that is instructions and solutions to C 
questions issued by /CAI to examiners and moderators) would 
involve an infringement of the copyright and therefore the 
request for intormation is liable to be rejected under s.9 of the 
RT/ Act- Held: The word 'State' used in s.9 of RT/ Act refers 
-to the Central or State Government, Parliament or Legislature D, 
of a State, or any local or other authorities as described under 
Atticle 12 of the Constitution - The reason for using the word 
.'State' and not 'public authority' in s.9 of RT/ Act is apparently 
because the definition of 'public authority' in the ,A.ct is wider 
than the definition of 'State' in Article 12, and includes even 
non-government organizations financed directly or indirectly E 
by funds provided by the appropriate government - An 
application for information would be rejected under s. 9 of RT/ 
Act, only if information sought involves an infringement of 
copyright subsisting in a person other than the .State - /CAI 
being a statutory body created by the Chartered Accountants F 
Act. 1948 is 'State' - The information sought is a material in 
which /CAI claims a copyright - It is not the case of ICAI that 
anyone else has a copyright in such material - In fact it has 
specifically pleaded that even if the question papers, 
solutions/model answers, or other instructions are prepared G 
by any third patty for /CAI, the copyright therein is assigned 
in favour of /CAI - Providing access to information in respect 
of which /CAI holds a copyright, does not involve infringement 
of a copyright subsisting in a person other than the State -
H 
330 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2011] 14 (ADDL.) S.C.R.. 
A 
Therefore /CAI is not entitled to claim protection against 
disclosure urider s. 9 of the RT/ Act - There is yet another 
r.eason why s. 9 of RT/ Act will be inapplicable - The words 
'infringement of copyright' have a specific connotation - A 
combined reading of ss. 51 and 52(1)(a) of Copyright Act 
B 
shows that furnishing of information by an examining body, 
in response to a query under the RT/ Act may not

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