Imphal: The Manipur Public Service Commission is refusing to release individual written and interview scores for the 2022 Civil Services Combined Competitive Examination. It already published the names, ranks, categories, and total marks for the winners. An Imphal Times journalist filed an RTI request for the full score breakdown. The Commission denied the request. It cited Section 8(1)(j) of the Right to Information Act, 2005, claiming the data constitutes private information.
The First Appellate Authority backed this refusal. Neither office explained how revealing the numbers infringes on privacy once the total scores are public. The government has already appointed the successful candidates. This decision leaves a major legal question: Can a government body call the parts private when the whole is public? Transparency advocates argue the breakdown is necessary to verify the recruitment process.
The Supreme Court recently weighed in on similar battles. In the case of Public Information Officer and Registrar and Anr. v. Onkar Dattatray Kalmankar and Anr., the court ruled that transparency outweighs privacy claims in public hiring. The judges stated, "We are also of the view that the disclosure of the marks though may fall in the category of personal information, yet the disclosure of this personal information is presently necessary in public interest, and therefore, it is not an information which cannot be given by the Information Officer under the RTI Act, 2005."
This case serves as a critical precedent. Manipur authorities often keep these component marks secret. The final resolution will set a standard for how public recruitment works in the state. Fairness matters here. Public trust hangs in the balance.
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