This commission maintains that both the letter and spirit of the Right of Access to Information Act 2017 dictate the disclosure of information, based on the record available with the Respondent reflecting the grounds on which the candidates were short-listed and were not short-listed.
This commission has also held in Appeal No 1066-05/21, Nadeem Umer Vs Ministry of National Health Services that the “public interest dictates the educational degrees of short-listed/selected candidates for government posts, their CVs, marks obtained during the recruitment process, remarks of the members of the selection committee during the interview cannot be withheld on the grounds of privacy as it this information is critical to determine the level of transparency and fairness adopted in the recruitment process”. Therefore, none of the provisions of this Act, including Section 7 (g) can be attracted to withhold the disclosure of the requested information. The personal/private information means CNIC details, residential addresses, telephone numbers, bank accounts/financial details and health conditions.