Allahabad High Court Rules on Exam Marks Confidentiality

The Allahabad High Court decided that marks obtained in public exams are not confidential and can be requested under the RTI Act without requiring the consent of the concerned party. However, the disclosure of answer sheets involves additional complexities and consent may be needed to protect private information.

The Allahabad High Court has ruled that marks obtained by candidates in public examinations cannot be considered confidential, allowing their disclosure under the Right to Information Act, 2005. This ruling was part of a case involving a writ petition by the Union of India through GM, Diesel Locomotive, regarding the release of exam marks.

During the case, the court clarified that while marks in the examination do not require the third-party consent for disclosure, the photocopies of answer sheets may still require careful handling. This is due to potential privacy concerns related to the examiner's signatures and other sensitive information present on these documents.

This decision came as a clarification of RTI Act provisions after Santosh Kumar, a candidate, sought marks of his fellow candidates under the Act. While information about the marks was made accessible, the debate over providing photocopies of the answer sheets remains due to privacy regulations. The court's judgment emphasizes the balance between transparency and privacy.

(With inputs from agencies.)