When an RTI activist picks up information about a Government Scheme for Journalistic Research or Social Audit, it ay acquire sensitive personal information of a large number of public who have given permission to the Government to use the personal information for a specific purpose.
Releasing the information to the journalist my therefore require an assessment
a) Does the release harm the individuals.
b) If so, is the harm outweighs the probable public good.
c) At the time of release, Probable public good is speculative but the harm is definitive and the PIO will take a decision , that can hurt the data principals, for which he is not equipped with.
After the Puttaswamy judgement this is not permitted under law. Hence the need to modify Section 8(1)(j) was mandatory.
Naavi
